StevenWarRan: The Burnham's & New Tribesin Religion Today

May 28, 2001, The Associated Press, Search under way in Philippines for hostages, by Paul Alexander,
May 28, 2001, The Associated Press, Kansas missionaries kidnapped,
May 29, 2001, The Associated Press, Abductees center of tug of war, by Paul Alexander,
May 29, 2001, The Associated Press, Extremists claim they'll kill hostages if rescue attempt spotted,
May 31, 2001, The Associated Press, Philippine hostages seen in boat, by Adam Brown,
July 9, 2001, The Associated Press, Extremist leader arrested, Abu Sayyaf: Muslim group, by Jim Gomez,
September 2, 2001, The Associated Press, Nation and world briefs,
September 2, 2001, The Associated Press, Troops capture members of an extremist group,
October 10, 2001, New York Times, Global Links; Other Fronts Seen, by Tim Weiner,
November 27, 2001, NYT, U.S. Couple Held in Philippines Describe Their Ordeal on Tape, Don Kirk,
December 19, 2001, Religion Today, Hostages for Christ: Burnhams Face Grave Danger, by Janet Chismar,

January 2, 2002, Religion Today, A Plan to Use Troops to Rescue Missionaries, by Patrick Goodenough,
February 9, 2002, New York Times, Botched Siege Under Scrutiny In Philippines, by Jane Perlez,
Feb. 12, 2002, Religion Today, Prayer Takes Precedence over Politics in Burnham Situation, Bryan Cribb,
April 1, 2002, New York Times, Hopes for Easter Release of Missionary Couple Held in Philippine Jungle Prove Unfounded, by Jane Perlez,
April 10, 2002, Religion Today, New Tribes Reports Missionaries Alive and Safe,
April 24, 2002, ANS, Bethlehem, Rome, Burnhams and Muslim Garb Case,
April 26, 2002, Religion Today, Deal to Free US Hostages in Philippines Collapses,
May 14, 2002, Religion Today, Year in Captivity Takes Toll on Burnhams,
May 23, 2002, Religion Today, Two Special Days of Prayer for Burnhams,
May 27, 2002, The Capital-Journal, Editorial, Martin and Gracia Burnham: A year in bondage,
June 8, 2002, New York Times, Muslims' U S Hostage Is Killed In Gun Battle in the Philippines Jane Perlez
June 9, 2002, NYT, Careless, Weary Rebels Left a Trail for Philippine Army, Raymond Bonner, Carlos Conde,
June 10, 2002, Rescued Missionary Widow Heads Home, by Patrick Goodenough,
June 12, 2002, Religion Today, Burnham Bulletin: Gracia Doing Well,
June 16, 2002 The Associated Press, Faith, mission guided family, by Roxana Hegeman,
June 17, 2002, ANS, Bush Officials Pay Respect to Martin Burnham at Funeral, by Stefan J. Bos,
June 19, 2002, Religion Today, Filipinos Report on Burnham Hostage Mission,
June 10, 2002, Rescued Missionary Widow Heads Home, by Patrick Goodenough,
June 12, 2002, Religion Today, Burnham Bulletin: Gracia Doing Well,
June 16, 2002 The Associated Press, Faith, mission guided family, by Roxana Hegeman,
June 17, 2002, ANS, Bush Officials Pay Respect to Martin Burnham at Funeral, by Stefan J. Bos,
June 19, 2002, Religion Today, Filipinos Report on Burnham Hostage Mission,

May 9, 2003, New York Times, Asia: Philippines: American Hostage's Book Prompts Inquiry,
June 9, 2003, Book Recounts Missionary Ordeal in Philippines, by Patrick Goodenough,
June 9, 2003, Book Recounts Missionary Ordeal in Philippines, by Patrick Goodenough,
September 10, 2003, Religion Today Summaries, Christian Publication Dropped Agape Press,
November 29, 2003, New York Times, Religion Journal; For Missionaries With Children, the Calling vs. the Danger, by Naomi Schaeffer,

July 30, 2004, The Associated Press, Kansan recounts year's captivity, by By Jim Gomez,
July 31, 2004, Agape Press, Widowed Abduction Survivor Testifies Against Muslim Captors, Allie Martin,
January 27, 2012, The Capital Journal, 7:26 PM, Religion: Kidnap victim to speak of ordeal, by Phil Anderson,

December 19, 2001, Religion Today, Hostages for Christ: Burnhams Face Grave Danger, by Janet Chismar, Senior Editor, News & Culture

Editor's Note: According to reports issued this morning, June 7, 2002, Martin Burnham and Deborah Yap were killed in an intense firefight between the Abu Sayyaf rebels and the Filipino forces. The third hostage, Martin's wife Gracia Burnham, was wounded by the gunfire in her right leg and reportedly is out of danger.

From June 14, 2001 - "This is a cause worth living for, even dying for, because He is worthy," reads the New Tribes Mission (NTM) vision statement. Death and danger are daily realities in many mission fields, as evidenced by recent events. In April, Baptist missionary Roni Bowers and her infant daughter were mistakenly shot and killed in Peru. NTM reports three of their missionaries are still being held hostage in Columbia. And now, two more join the ranks of the missing.

Martin and Gracia Burnham, NTM missionaries from Wichita, Kan., are among 20 people who were kidnapped May 27 in the Philippines by the militant Islamic group, Abu Sayyaf. The couple had been living and serving in the Nueva Vizcaya province in the Philippines.

New Tribes Mission is a non-denominational group that works with remote tribes in the interior of the country. NTM missionaries are sent by their local churches, from some 25 countries. They serve in a variety of roles - including training and administration, supply buying and Bible translation - in nearly 30 countries. All the missionaries in NTM are involved in the task of planting tribal churches.

According to NTM spokesman Scott Ross, Martin told his parents that he wanted to do something special for Gracia to celebrate their 18th wedding anniversary. So he took her to an upscale resort on one of the islands. It was there that the Abu Sayyaf swooped in and captured the hostages at dawn.

"We came into this work knowing anything can happen and what would be expected of us," says Martin's mother, Oreta. She and her husband are also missionaries in the Philippines. "It is times like these, you know the Lord is the one that is going to have to work this out," Oreta adds.

Ross says that both Martin's and Gracia's parents are doing pretty well, but they crave prayer: "They are strong sometimes and sometimes, they just get worn out."

The last few days have been especially wearing for the families as the Abu Sayyaf threatened to behead the Burnhams and the one other America hostage, Guillermo Sobero. In fact, Abu Sabaya, the leader of the rebel group, is claiming they executed Sobero early Tuesday morning. Reports of the execution are unconfirmed at press time, but of great concern to New Tribes Mission.

"The report cannot be confirmed at this time, but NTM as well as the Philippine and U.S. governments, are taking this very seriously," says Ross. NTM is staying in close contact with sources in Manila and the State Department, he adds.

The execution announcement followed an effort by the Philippine government to negotiate with the rebels, according to Fox News. Earlier Sunday, officials agreed to the rebels' demand for a Malaysian negotiator. The concession occurred minutes before the rebels' deadline to behead one of the American hostages. Sabaya reportedly questioned the sincerity of the concession and said in a radio transmission that he beheaded Sobero anyway.

"It's a real surprise to us," Ross continues. "We felt Sunday night that there had been some type of agreement or understanding reached between the Philippine government and Abu Sayyaf about indefinitely postponing this death threat, so this comes out of the blue for us."

NTM is taking all threats very seriously. According to Ross, "We are aware of the reports about Guillermo Sobero, and we really would be asking for people to be praying for the Sobero family. I am sure they are going through some real difficult times, waiting to see if this situation is confirmed."

The Associated Press says Philippine authorities hoped Sabaya was bluffing -- but seem increasingly resigned he wasn't. A military intelligence task force put the likelihood Sobero was dead at "very, very high," according to Armed Forces Chief of Staff Diomedio Villanueva. Troops scouring a southern Philippine island discovered a decapitated torso Tuesday not far from where the Muslim guerrillas seized hostages last week - but no sign of Sobero.

According to Fox News, when asked whether he would kill an American or a Filipino, Sabaya said: "I will make sure it will be a white. If the Malaysians are allowed to enter, we will release some of the hostages as a good gesture. It's (the government's) responsibility if these white people lose their heads."

The Abu Sayyaf says it is fighting to carve out an independent Islamic state from the southern Philippines, but the government says its members are mere bandits, according to AP. Muslims are a minority in the mostly Roman Catholic Philippines but are a majority in the southern islands that the Abu Sayyaf uses as a base.

Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said Wednesday: "Abu Sayyaf is a scourge to our race. They are a curse to their religion. We will not stop the campaign until we have cleansed Basilan and Sulu of the Abu Sayyaf forces," she said, referring to the southern islands where the rebels are based.

January 2, 2002, Religion Today, A Plan to Use Troops to Rescue Missionaries, by Patrick Goodenough, CNS Pacific Rim Bureau Chief

In the closing hours of 2001, a Kansas congressman hoped to persuade the Philippine government to allow U.S. troops to help rescue an American missionary couple held hostage for more than half of the year by terrorists linked to the al-Qaeda network.

Republican Todd Tiahrt met with President Gloria Arroyo on New Year's Day, and also planned to make a flying visit over the southern island where gunmen have been holding Martin and Gracia Burnham for the past seven months.

Speaking to reporters, Arroyo confirmed the meeting, although she would not divulge the subject matter. [Further reports have not yet been issued.]

Manila has welcomed U.S. assistance and advice as it battles the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), a kidnap-for-hostage gang which claims to be fighting for an Islamic state in the southern portion of the predominantly Roman Catholic country.

Last year it elicited millions of dollars in ransom for the lives of another group of hostages, including foreigners.

Arroyo has said repeatedly that the Philippines would not allow foreign forces to participate in military operations. She repeated that view Sunday, saying, "it will be difficult to send American combatants" to Basilan, the jungle-covered island where the army has been hunting the militants for months. U.S. soldiers could offer their expertise only as advisors or trainers, she added.

But Tiahrt was quoted earlier as making his mission to the Philippines clear. He would try to urge Arroyo to allow American troops to join a rescue operation.

"The whole purpose of the trip is to try to get our troops involved in the rescue," he said. "We have highly trained, highly skilled professionals at hostage rescue but we are always courteous to ask for the invitation from the [host] government. We haven't had the invitation yet."

Tiahrt made the trip of behalf of Martin Burnham's parents, Paul and Oreta, who live in Rose Hill, Kansas. The senior Burnhams have themselves been Christian missionaries in the Philippines, and Martin was born there.

Martin and Gracia Burnham, both 42, were seized by about 20 ASG members while celebrating their 18th wedding anniversary at an island resort on May 27. Also captured was a third American, California diving enthusiast Guillermo Sobero, as well as 13 Filipino tourists and four resort staff.

Sobero was later beheaded by ASG gang members, as were a dozen Filipinos. The remainder either escaped or were freed - reportedly in return for ransom, despite Manila's stated refusal to pay ransom.

The group now only holds the Burnhams and a Filipino nurse, Deborah Yap, who was among a second group of hostages taken captive on June 2, from a town on Basilan island.

Difficult terrain

In recent months, the Philippine Army has stepped up efforts to rescue the hostages and capture the terrorists, with training and equipment provided by the U.S.

A self-imposed army deadline to free the captives by Christmas Day came and went. Arroyo said Sunday only a matter of three kilometers separated the gunmen and the pursuing troops, but dense jungle made the task very difficult. "In just 10 feet of forest in Basilan, you won't be able to see the other side," she told a television show host. "That's how thick the Basilan forests are."

Lieut.-Gen. Roy Cimatu, head of the armed forces' southern command, had said this weekend his troops still hoped to carry out the rescue by year's end.

Government spokesman Rigoberto Tiglao said the terrorists were hemmed in, but the army had held off bombing, so as not to risk the lives of the hostages.

Tiahrt expressed fear that the Burnhams would die if not freed soon. "The Burnhams have been there for seven months, going on eight. They are physically weakened," he said. "I have spoken to their parents and they think something needs to happen or they are afraid the couple will perish. It is a matter of timing now."

Chief of the armed forces, Gen. Diomedio Villanueva, confirmed he would accompany Tiahrt to Basilan, where the congressman wanted to see the area for himself. Tiahrt reportedly is traveling with a U.S. Marine colonel and State Department officials.

U.S. trainers

Both the U.S. and Philippine governments claim the ASG has links to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network, which the U.S. holds responsible for the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington. In the aftermath of Sept. 11, the U.S. provided military advisors to train Philippine troops for their mission to destroy the terrorists.

A new American team is due to begin training Philippine soldiers in mid-January near Zamboanga, the largest city in the southern region. An army spokesman said the Americans would bring helicopters and other equipment to make night-time operations more effective.

Cimatu said the Americans would be there for a prolonged stay, during which they would be permitted to carry weapons for self-defense

Tiahrt met Arroyo before to exchange views about the hostages, during a visit by the president to Washington last month. At the time he said he was "confident the Philippine government has been as vigilant as possible in securing the safe release of Martin and Gracia."

The Burnhams, who have three children aged between 11 and 14, have been attached to the Florida-based New Tribes Mission (NTM) since 1985.

NTM in a weekend statement once again urged supporters to pray for their safe release. "The Philippine government and military have apparently ruled out any options but military intervention and this is a dangerous proposition," the organization said. "Martin is reported to be always chained to a tree or to one of his guards."

Feb. 12, 2002, ReligionToday, Prayer Takes Precedence over Politics in Burnham Situation, Bryan Cribb, Baptist Press News Service,

New Tribes missionaries Martin and Gracia Burnham have suffered a harrowing reality for the past eight months. The Burnhams were kidnapped in the middle of the night, and since have been forced on the run with their captors, in the jungle, dodging bullets and authorities. Video footage released by their captors showed the couple with obvious signs of malnutrition and illness.

The torturous plight of the Burnhams has been an agonizing concern for Southern Baptist Theological Seminary student Marjorie Clark. A friend and former roommate of Gracia at Calvary Bible College in Kansas City, Mo., Clark has followed the Burnhams' situation almost from the start.

She first heard about their kidnapping shortly after it happened. On May 27, a Muslim extremist group, Abu Sayyaf, took the Burnhams at gunpoint while the missionaries celebrated their 18th wedding anniversary at a resort off the island of Palawan in the Philippines. Some 20 others were also taken. The terrorist group has killed several captives, including a California man. The group has been linked to Osama bin Laden's Al Qaeda terrorist network.

"They were taken literally in the middle of the night, and so they don't really have anything with them," said Clark, a Highland, Ind., native and a master's student at the Louisville, Ky., seminary. "Supposedly, they have sores on their mouths from poor nutrition. Their feet bleed. He [Martin] is chained to a tree every night."

The Burnham's plight recently became more vivid and visible to Clark and to the world, as CBS aired a videotaped interview of the Burnhams Jan. 21 on the CBS news program "48 Hours."

Seeing Gracia -- whom Clark cherishes as "somebody that you laughed with, somebody that you talked to late into the night with, somebody you sang a lot with" - and viewing her suffering on television was disheartening for Clark. The visuals were especially troublesome given the fact that the interview was filmed two months ago, and their conditions could only have worsened.

"This [suffering] has been so difficult for [Gracia]," Clark said. "She's a very upbeat person. She's a very outgoing person, happy, funny. So it was ... discouraging to see her so emotionally distressed. Her hands kept shaking and coming up to her lips that were shaking."

Clark still has faith that the Burnhams - who have served in the Philippines since 1986 - are remaining strong in their faith.

"Both of them still maintained their sense of humor," said Clark, giving her impressions on the interview. "You could see their personalities still coming out even in the midst of the horror they are living through."

Raising Awareness

She and fellow seminary student Lizette Beard were so moved that they set up a website -- www.praythemhome.com -- to garner publicity.

"I believe that prayer's the one very powerful thing that we can do," said Beard, a master of divinity student from Mountain Home, Ark., who handled the website design.

Clark hopes the Burnham's enduring and persevering faith will end up pointing others - even the their captors - to Christ.

"I would love to see the fellow hostages that they are with come to know Christ, and I believe there is a great opportunity there because of the witness that they have," Clark said. "... I would not be at all surprised to see some of the hostage takers - especially some of the younger ones - be really impacted by their witness."

Currently, no end of the Burnhams' captivity is imminent - though some hope did surface recently. More than 600 U.S. troops joined with soldiers in the Philippines Jan. 15 to begin military training exercises focused on wiping out the Muslim extremist group who captured the Burnhams.

But, the fact that no real progress has been made in eight months is discouraging for friends and especially family. Frustration is compounded by the fact that attempting to track the kidnappers in the jungle has proved extremely difficult.

In fact, some might deem the Burnhams' situation hopeless. But Clark is not so quick to discount the power of prayer.

"I really believe that God can rescue them miraculously, and I believe He can show Himself very, very great through all of this," Clark said.

Convinced of God's power to deliver, Clark has recently begun an effort to encourage others to pray for the Burnhams and to make as many people as possible aware of their plight. The methods have been as varied as they have been impassioned.

Congressional Help

In December she, along with other friends and family of the Burnhams, participated in a petition drive on the Burnhams' behalf, and they brought the list of 20,000 names to Washington, D.C.

"That's kind of when I got involved," Clark said. "... God just really impressed on me that that was something I could do. ... For months I had been wondering, 'What can I do? What can I do to help this situation out?'"

She and other friends and family members met with Congressman Todd Tiahrt, R.-Kan., and with representatives of Sen. Sam Brownback, R.-Kan.. After these meetings, the family presented the petition to White House officials.

Tiahrt has been especially proactive, Clark said. Not only did he arrange for meetings with important officials, he also arranged for Heather Mercer -- who herself was held by Muslim extremists in Afghanistan -- to be flown in to spend time with the families and to do some interviews to bring attention to Burnhams' imprisonment.

Later in December, Tiahrt went to the Philippines himself to press for more action on the part of the government there.

"He is a man of God, I truly believe," Clark said. "He has really adopted Martin and Gracia almost as his own."

The "48 Hours" program has also served to bring attention to Martin and Gracia. And Clark herself appeared on a local television interview in Louisville immediately following the program.

Prayer is the Cornerstone

While these political and publicity efforts are important, prayer has been the focus of Clark's efforts on the Burnhams' behalf.

After Christmas, Clark and another college friend decided to have a day of prayer and fasting to coincide with Gracia's birthday, Jan. 17. They attempted to get as many people as possible to participate. Together, they contacted churches, Christian Internet news sources, missions agencies, publishing companies and radio stations. The response was positive and encouraging, Clark said.

While Clark does not know how many have joined her in prayer for the Burnhams, she knows that fervent prayer of even one person avails much.

"I've prayed more in the last few months than I've probably prayed my whole life," Clark said. "It's taken me to my knees because of that feeling of helplessness.'"

It is this hope in a sovereign God who controls even the most hopeless situation that has helped Clark through.

"I do believe that they were chosen to suffer," Clark said. "I don't know why. And we might not ever know the reason why on earth. And I'm OK with that. I do believe that there is and will be a great reward for them for their suffering."

April 10, 2002, Religion Today, New Tribes Reports Missionaries Alive and Safe,

The latest report from New Tribes Mission (NTM) is that kidnapped missionaries Martin and Gracia Burnham are relatively safe and healthy. Sources that NTM considers reliable have recently reported that Martin and Gracia are alive and together. Their kidnappers, the Abu Sayyaf Group, are reportedly holding the third hostage, Filipina nurse Deborah Yap, at another location. She is said to be tending members of the ASG who were wounded during combat with the Philippine military.

"Over the Easter weekend, we were concerned by reports of combat in the area where Martin and Gracia were being held. However, there are now indications that the couple has been moved to a safer location," the report read. "We know they have been physically weakened by their ordeal, which has included stress, almost constant movement in rugged terrain, and inadequate nutrition. At the same time, food is reported to be more plentiful at their new location."

Martin, 42, and Gracia, 43, from Kansas, were kidnapped on May 27, 2001, by the Abu Sayyaf Group from a resort off the island of Palawan in the Philippines. Martin grew up in the Philippines, where his parents have been missionaries for more than 32 years. The Burnhams have been members of NTM since 1985.

New Tribes Mission

April 24, 2002, ANS, Bethlehem, Rome, Burnhams and Muslim Garb Case,

Wednesday,

Burnhams Now in Sulu? ... ASSIST News Service (ANS) reports that a former Siasi municipal official is theorizing that if Martin and Gracia Burnham are no longer in Basilan Province in the Philippines, then the only place the Abu Sayyaf members can bring their hostages is Sulu. No one has seen the Burnhams in the last two weeks. The New Tribes missionaries have been held by the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) since last May.

Lawyer Arden Anni, former congressman of the 2nd district of Sulu and erstwhile mayor of Siasi municipality, said there is the possibility that because of military pressure against the ASG in Basilan, its hostages will be turned over to the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) renegades in Sulu.The MNLF renegades is another Islamic rebel group fighting for a separate Islamic state in the Southern Philippines. Anni also postulated that once the MNLF renegades take custody of the Burnham couple, they will pressure the government to release former MNLF Chair Nur Misuari in exchange of the freedom of the Burnham couple and possibly including Filipino nurse Ediborah Yap.

April 26, 2002, Religion Today, Deal to Free US Hostages in Philippines Collapses,

From: Cardinals' New Plan, No Ransom for Burnhams, Moonies & more

... According to a report from Reuters yesterday, the family of Martin and Gracia Burnham, who are being held hostage by Muslim gunmen in the Philippines, accused the rebels of "reneging" on a deal to free their captives. Paul Burnham, Martin's father, said the hostages' families were deeply saddened that the Abu Sayyaf had sent word it would not free the hostages "until additional demands are met." It was not clear if the extra demands involved more money.

Paul Burnham said he had reached an agreement with an Abu Sayyaf spokesman on March 13 for the release of the hostages and on March 26 the family was told "they would be released soon." The U.S. official said the $300,000 in ransom was paid in late March. According to a press release from New Tribes Mission (NTM), who sponsor Gracia and Martin, the ministry was not aware the family members were involved in a deal until they revealed it to mission representatives in confidence Saturday, April 20.

May 14, 2002, Religion Today, Year in Captivity Takes Toll on Burnhams,

From: Indonesia, World Vision AIDS Forum & Burnham Update

... Recent unconfirmed reports indicate that, after nearly a year in captivity, kidnapped New Tribes Missions (NTM) missionaries Martin and Gracia Burnham are not well. According to a press release, NTM has received reports that Martin is suffering from, or has recently suffered from, malaria. Gracia is said to be seriously ill from an infection. It is even being reported that the kidnappers are considering releasing Gracia, lest she die. However, like many reports over the last year, none of this can be confirmed.

New Tribes Mission's Crisis Teams in Manila and the USA are continuing to work around the clock to track down reliable information about the Martin and Gracia. Whether the reports are true or not, almost a year of captivity has taken a toll on the couple's health. They have suffered from malnutrition sores on their feet and mouths, malaria and wounds. This ordeal has also taken an emotional toll on them and their families.

Martin, 42, and Gracia, 43, from Kansas, were kidnapped on May 27, 2001, by the Abu Sayyaf Group from a resort off the island of Palawan in the Philippines. Martin grew up in the Philippines, where his parents have been missionaries for more than 32 years. The Burnhams have been members of NTM since 1985.

May 23, 2002, Religion Today, Two Special Days of Prayer for Burnhams,

From: German Cleric vs. Bush, Briner Award, Burnhams & Pedophiles

New Tribes Mission (NTM) has issued a call to prayer on Sunday and Monday for kidnapped missionaries Martin and Gracia Burnham. The couple was kidnapped on May 27, 2001, and continues to be held hostage by members of the Abu Sayyaf Group. NTM is asking congregations to pray for the Burnhams at their Sunday morning services, and also asking individuals to pray for them Monday, the anniversary date of their capture.

Specifically, pray that soon, they and their fellow hostage, Filipina nurse Deborah Yap, will be released. Please also pray that the couple's parents, Paul and Oreta Burnham and Norvin and Betty Jo Jones, will have the strength and wisdom to not only be able to make it through this difficult time, but to be shining lights for Christ. NTM also asks that you pray that Martin and Gracia's children, Jeff, Mindy and Zach, will have peace and comfort. Pray that Deborah's family will be provided for. They are quite poor, and Deborah was the family breadwinner. NTM has been helping them, but they really need their mom.

According to NTM, conflicting reports make it difficult to know where the couple is being held. Reports that they are ill continue to come in, but these cannot be confirmed. Martin, 42, and Gracia, 43, from Kansas, were kidnapped from a resort off the island of Palawan in the Philippines. Martin grew up in the Philippines, where his parents have been missionaries for more than 32 years. The Burnhams have been members of NTM since 1985.

June 10, 2002, Rescued Missionary Widow Heads Home, by Patrick Goodenough, CNS Pacific Rim Bureau Chief

Rescued U.S. hostage Gracia Burnham flew out of the Philippines Monday, as commentators there criticized the military encounter that ended with the deaths of her husband and a third hostage. Gracia was wounded in the firefight between her captors, the Abu Sayyaf Group, and Philippine troops. Her 42-year-old husband Martin was killed, as was Filipina nurse Ediborah (Deborah) Yap. All three had been held by the Muslim group for more than a year.

In a statement released at the airport before leaving for Kansas via Japan, the Christian missionary urged the government to continue its efforts to defeat the terrorists. "During our ordeal, we were repeatedly lied to by the Abu Sayyaf and they are not men of honor," she said, adding that they should be treated as "common criminals" and brought to justice.

She offered no criticism of the troops involved in the bloody shootout. On the contrary, she thanked those "who risked and even gave their lives in order to rescue us."

By contrast, Philippine commentators have torn the government to shreds over an operation variously described as "botched," "bungled" and a "total flop."

Much of what actually happened remains speculative. President Gloria Arroyo said that, as the operation was not yet over, aspects remained "classified" until the military decided what could eventually be revealed.

Adding to the confusion are contradictory statements from military officers and spokesman. Some claim the operation was carefully pre-planned; others say it was a chance encounter.

An Army colonel was quoted as saying that Martin Burnham was executed by the gunmen, but Gracia's sister said she learned that her brother-in-law was shot in the crossfire as he partially shielded his wife inside a tent.

The shootout took place not on the ASG island stronghold of Basilan, but on the nearby Zamboanga peninsula.

Since January, Basilan has been base of U.S. forces who are advising and training Filipino troops in the effort to hunt down the ASG, a group that has links to Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network, according to counter-terrorism specialists.

Under the terms of the joint exercise, the Americans were not permitted to participate in combat operations. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told reporters in Europe that the Pentagon had no prior knowledge of the operation, and no U.S. troops had been involved.

Although four low-level ASG gunmen were killed in the skirmish, Philippine media commentators noted that leader Aldam Tilao (aka Abu Sabaya) had managed to escape during the assault.

Abu Sabaya recently taunted the U.S., threatening to kill the Burnhams. He and four other leaders are the subject of a $5 million U.S. reward offer. "How did that Abu Sayyaf abomination, Abu Sabaya, manage to escape?" wrote Teodoro Benigno in the Philippine Star.

"Are these the elite Philippine Scout Rangers the Americans trained for many months ...? We had thought that with all the training and the ultra-sophisticated weapons brought over by the Americans, the whole thing would be a walk in the park."

Recalling that the ASG had been whittled down over the past year to less than 100 fighters, Benigno said the group should have been wiped out long ago, "but for the blunders of our military leadership."

The Today daily in an editorial pondered why the Philippine troops, having "stumbled" across the gang with its hostages, hadn't called in the entire Army rather than initiate a firefight.

In his remarks in Europe, Rumsfeld declined to criticize the decision to attempt the rescue. Noting that the Burnhams' were believed to be in poor after a long period in captivity, he said it was "understandable" that an attempt had been made to save them.

And in Manila, U.S. Ambassador Francis Ricciardone challenged the view that the operation had been bungled, pointing out that it had taken place in thick jungle terrain and heavy rain.

Suspicions

When the joint U.S.-Philippine military exercise was first announced, Arroyo was attacked by left-wing and other critics who said it was a violation of the country's sovereignty. Some expressed suspicion that the exercise was a pretext for a return to the Philippines of a permanent U.S. military presence, a decade after American bases were shut down when the Senate refused to renew their leases.

Those same reservations were raised again Monday by several newspaper commentators.
Ninez Cacho-Olivares opined in the Manila Tribune that it was in the interests of Washington and Manila for the ASG not to be easily defeated. "This botched operation is now being used by both governments to extend the stay of the Americans, complete with their bases," she wrote. "That was the intent all along."

Suspicions were also raised by lawmakers, who raised concerns that the rescue operation would be used by both governments as justification to extend the U.S. presence.

President Arroyo was quoted Monday as saying that the joint exercises could continue even after the scheduled end-date next month. She said the issue had been raised briefly during a phone conversation with President Bush on Friday, following the firefight.

Meanwhile the head of the Philippine Army's southern command, Maj.-Gen. Ernesto Carolina, predicted the "imminent destruction" of the ASG, which he said was "splintered [and] demoralized."

Gracia 'in good spirits'

Gracia Burnham on Sunday met Yap's four children in a tearful encounter a U.S. Embassy spokesman later described as "wonderful." The nurse was reportedly earlier given the opportunity to go free, but chose to stay in order to help the Americans.
The Burnhams, who have been missionaries in the Philippines for 15 years, were among 20 hostages seized from an island resort shortly after arriving there to celebrate a wedding anniversary on May 27, 2001.

A number of the other hostages, including a third American, Guillermo Sobero, were later murdered. Yap was captured from a hospital raided by the group several days after the initial strike.

The Burnhams' Florida-based missionary organization, New Tribes Mission, said Monday Gracia was in good spirits.

She had told family members by phone that Martin's deep faith had won him the respect of the ASG members during their year in captivity.

NTM has set up a trust fund to help Gracia and their three children.

Almost 10 years ago, NTM was caught up in another hostage crisis, when three of its missionaries were seized in Panama in January 1993 by kidnappers who took them across the border into Colombia.

Contact with their captors - who demanded a $5 million ransom - was later broken, and last September the families of Dave Mankins, Mark Rich, and Rick Tenenoff agreed with the conclusion drawn by investigators that the three had been killed in 1996.

PHOTO by AP/Wide World Photos:Recently freed American hostage Gracia Burnham is wheeled out of the elevator Monday, June 10, 2002 at Manila's international airport before her departure to the United States. Burnham thanked her rescuers and asked for her muslim extremist kidnappers, the Abu Sayyaf, to be brought to justice. Her husband Martin and a Filipino hostage, Ediborah Yap, died in a shootout Friday, June 7, during the rescue operations in the jungles of Zamboanga province, southern Philippines. (AP Photo/Pat Roque)

June 12, 2002, Religion Today, Burnham Bulletin: Gracia Doing Well,

From: Columbine Survivors Reach Out, Gracia Burnham & Canada

... In an interview given just before she boarded a plane to return to the United States, Gracia Burnham gave the following message to those who have been praying: "We want to thank each and every one of you for every time you remembered us in prayer. We needed every single prayer you said for us during our ordeal in the jungle." She also thanked the military men who risked their lives to rescue her and Martin.

According to a press release from New Tribes Mission (NTM), one of those who was with Gracia the day after her rescue said this about her. "Gracia is a strong woman of deep faith." Her clarity of mind as she testified of how God carried her and Martin through this long ordeal amazed all who heard her."

A memorial service for Martin will be held at Central Christian Church in Wichita, Kansas, at 10 a.m. on Friday. A Martin Burnham Memorial Fund has been established for the benefit of Gracia and their three children. Information is available at New Tribes Mission, 1000 E. First Street, Sanford, FL 32771-1487. Any cards or letters for Gracia should be sent to Gracia Burnham c/o NTM at the same address.

"Gracia has an incredible story to tell to all those that have so faithfully prayed for her and Martin. We have heard that God prepared the hearts of Martin and Gracia for whatever the result might be. God truly has been at work in a mighty way," says NTM.

June 17, 2002, ANS, Bush Officials Pay Respect to Martin Burnham at Funeral, by Stefan J. Bos, ASSIST News Service

A memorial service was held June 14 for American missionary Martin Burnham, who was shot and killed a week ago during a gun battle between government troops and Muslim militants in the jungle of the Philippines, according to reports monitored by ASSIST News Service. A Filipino nurse, Deborah Yap, was also killed during the partially failed rescue attempt by the Philippine army on June 7.

The ceremony for Martin (42) was conducted in the Central Christian Church in Wichita, Kansas, where residents had prayed around the clock for him and his wife since they were kidnapped last year by Abu Sayaf Group rebels.

Martin's 43-year old wife Gracia, who survived but is still in a wheelchair because of a bullet wound, and their three children Jeff (15), Mindy (12) and Zach (11) were among the thousands of people that attended the emotionally charged service.

Also present were representatives of the Bush Administration, former senator Bob Dole, Senator Sam Brownback, Rep. Todd Tiahrt and the Philippine Ambassador Albert del Rosario, according to news reports.

Outside the church, the staff of nearby stores stood on the street, paying their respects by holding flags and sympathy cards as police directed traffic, eyewitnesses said.

Alex Branch of The Wichita Eagle newspaper described the church service as a "joyous memorial" being held by friends and family, the Religious Media Agency said. "The family's poise impressed all those who have tried to imagine themselves in the family's place," he was quoted as saying.

Martin Burnham went to the Philippines with his missionary parents in 1969. Less than two decades later, he and his wife began working for the New Tribes Mission (NTM) in 1986. He soon became known as a dedicated pilot for missionaries, delivering their mail, supplies and encouragement.

Martin was often heard praying and singing during the one-year hostage ordeal that began when the Burnhams were kidnapped after celebrating their 18th wedding anniversary at the Dos Palmas beach resort near the island of Palawan.

Four days earlier on May 23, 2001, he reportedly remarked at his farewell meeting: "I wasn't called to be a missionary. I wasn't called to the Philippines. I was just called to follow Christ; and that's what I'm doing."

During the Memorial Service, much of which had been planned by Martin, the Rev. Galen Hinshaw read letters written by the children. Mindy told of her father singing to her, "playfully inserting her name into the song's lyrics."

The 12-year-old wrote: "Even though we weren't a rich family, any time I would want or needed anything, he did his best to get it for me." And their 15-year-old son, Jeff, told of a father who would always make time for him and planned to teach him to fly. "I'm going to miss our times together," he wrote.

The Rev. Oli Jacobsen, chairman of the New Tribes Mission executive committee, spoke of Martin as being "kind and gentle, but he was no weak person." NTM has reported that since the kidnapping, 5,000 people have registered to receive updates by e-mail and 1,000 checked the website for the latest information.

Martin had told his wife prior to his death that, if he should die, he wanted his funeral to have a sermon by Rev. Clay Bowlin, a Kansas City pastor at Northwest Bible Church and a fellow student with Martin at Calvary Bible College in Kansas City, Missouri.

Bowlin described how a hungry Martin and Gracia shared their food during captivity with the younger members of the Abu Sayyaf, many of whom were only children - children with guns - "because they were hungry, too."

Roxana Hegeman, an Associated Press Writer noted that Bowling told how people around the world prayed for the Burnhams' release. "Gracia told him that He (the Lord) brought her home by helicopter and brought Martin by angels' wings." His family believes that he is now in the heavenly home of Jesus Christ, who Martin Burnham considered to be his Lord and Savior.

Residents, friends and family have set up a Martin & Gracia Burnham Benefit Fund for donations to help Gracia and her children. Donations can be send to: Martin & Gracia Burnham Benefit Fund, C/O: Rose Hill Bank, P.O. Box 68, Rose Hill, KS 67133. Burnham Family Trust C/O: Valley View Bank, 7500 W. 95th Street. Family e-mails can be sent to New Tribes Mission at ntm@ntm.org.

June 19, 2002, Religion Today, Filipinos Report on Burnham Hostage Mission,

From: Atheists Fight Ground Zero Cross, Internet Porn, AIDS & more

... The Philippine military released a report June 17 indicating that soldiers used "extreme caution" on a mission to rescue Martin and Gracia Burnham and Deborah Yap, who had been held hostage by Muslim extremists for the past year. But, according to AP, the report did not clarify how two of the captives were killed. It was during a June 7 ambush of the Abu Sayyaf group by Philippine troops that missionary Burnham and nurse Yap were killed. Burnham's wife, Gracia, was shot in the right thigh but rescued.

The report, signed by the head of military forces in the southern Philippines, said soldiers "used single-shot fire and refrained from using grenades in hopes of sparing the hostages. The Abu Sayyaf rebels were firing in all directions on full automatic," said the officer. "Enemy bullets continued to rain ... near the American hostages." Three rebels were killed and seven soldiers were wounded in the fighting. The Philippine military held a news conference Tuesday to further explain the eight-page report.

According to AP, Martin Burnham was shot in the back, but no one knows who shot him. The military report also did not conclude how Yap was killed, but said "the rescue team believed she was hacked by a bladed weapon judging from the gaping wound she sustained." Soldiers had said earlier Yap was apparently shot in the back.

June 9, 2003, Book Recounts Missionary Ordeal in Philippines, by Patrick Goodenough, Pacific Rim Bureau Chief, Pacific Rim Bureau (CNSNews.com)

- A year after a rescue mission in the southern Philippines freed Gracia Burnham from Islamic terrorists' clutches, the former hostage is helping Philippines authorities who are investigating her claims of military collusion with the gang.
At a military base in Zamboanga City on Saturday, Filipino and visiting U.S. troops held a memorial service to mark the first anniversary of the deaths of Martin Burnham, Gracia's husband, and another hostage, Filipina nurse Ediborah Yap.

U.S. Colonel Allan D. Walker and an army chaplain led the service in a chapel in memory of the fallen hostages.

Walker, who is in charge of a taskforce training Philippine infantry troops, was quoted in local media reports as telling the small gathering that "the story is not finished."

"Our combined military forces are still fighting to eliminate those that caused Martin and Ediborah's suffering," he said.

During the first half of last year, U.S. forces trained Philippines troops hunting the Muslim terrorists of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), although the Americans did not take part in combat missions.

Towards the end of the training period, on June 7, 2002, Burnham and Yap were killed during a firefight between local troops and the ASG. Gracia was injured but survived.

Her rescue brought to an end a 376-day ordeal for the missionary couple from Kansas, who had lived and worked in the Philippines for more than 15 years.

In a newly-published book entitled In the Presence of my Enemies, Burnham described how they eked out an existence on the run in the jungles of the lawless southern Mindanao region.

Snatched from a beach resort on a rare, one-night break to celebrate their 18th wedding anniversary, they and 18 others became the property of terrorists claiming to be advancing the Islamic cause - but who made it clear from the start that it was money they wanted.

Half-starved, equally afraid of their murderous captors and of the artillery of the pursuing military, the couple watched as their fellow hostages were one by one ransomed - or killed, as in the case of the only other American in the group, California tourist Guillermo Sobero, who was decapitated days after the abduction.
Burnham wrote that the ASG was disappointed to find out she and her husband were Christian missionaries, aware that missionary organizations generally don't pay ransoms.

Just hours after their capture, "the other hostages were already busy figuring out how much money they could raise," she wrote.

"It seemed that everybody knew this was the name of the game. Muslim advancement may have been the announced overall goal, but cash was the necessary fuel. The bargaining was in full swing."

Five months later, the only hostages left were the Burnhams and Yap.

'Collusion'

The book is a personal account of their suffering and the way the ordeal challenged her faith.

But it also raised questions about military tactics and allegations of collusion between military officers and the terrorists.

On occasion the troops would encounter the moving band of captors and captives, firing indiscriminately and using heavy artillery without apparent thought for the safety of the hostages.

Then when the encounter was over, the ASG would simply move away, with the soldiers failing to pursue them, she said.

Burnham recalled being especially puzzled when troops brought food to the gang.

"This happened several times over the course of a few weeks. Why in the world did President [Gloria] Arroyo's troops provide the Abu Sayyaf with their daily bread?"

She also wrote that military weapons and ammunition had made their way to the ASG.

Also unsettling were episodes such as a call to ASG leader Abu Sabaya's satellite phone from a government official in Manila who, Burnham wrote, reminded the terrorist that "you owe me a favor" and asked him to free a particular hostage.

She also alleged that an unnamed Philippines general tried to obtain half of a ransom sum to be paid for hostages' freedom.

In the past, other former ASG hostages have made accusations of links between terrorists and local military officials.

Because of her published allegations, a senior Philippines justice official recently interviewed Burnham in Rose Hill, Kansas, where she lives with her three children.

A government lawyer, Juan Navera, told reporters in Manila last Friday that investigations into the collusion claims would be completed shortly.

Writing in the Manila Times on Sunday, columnist Toots Ople - who holds a senior position in the Department of Foreign Affairs - rejected a senior military officer's recent claim that Burnham's book vindicated the Philippines military.

"Questions about military competence and sound planning would hound the reader long after he finishes the book," Ople wrote.

She said Philippines lawmakers should read the book as it contained "policy questions that demand serious answers."

'Jihad'

Burnham's book paints a picture of an armed gang of devout Muslims, whose members faithfully read the Koran, prayed and carried out cleansing rituals even when water supplies were limited.

They also proudly associated themselves with Osama bin Laden and the Taliban militia that ruled most of Afghanistan and sheltered the al-Qaeda leader until the U.S. overthrew the regime in late 2001.

When the ASG first seized their captives they introduced themselves as "the Osama bin Laden group" and said the aim of their "jihad" against Manila was to establish a pure Islamic state like the Taliban's.

Burnham also recalls Sept. 12, 2001, when the terrorists heard the news on the Voice of America radio about the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington.

"Of course the word spread rapidly through the camp. Guys huddled in little groups, talking and laughing and congratulating one another," she recalled.

"That night as we [Martin and she] lay down on the ground to sleep, we quietly sang 'The Star-Spangled Banner' together and prayed for the victims so far away."

Continuing U.S. help

Six weeks after Gracia was rescued and the others killed, the U.S. Justice Department filed criminal charges against five ASG leaders, including charges relating to the deaths of Martin Burnham and Sobero.

The group continues to operate in the southern Philippines, although one of the five leaders, Abu Sabaya, was apparently killed in a shootout with the Philippine Navy a year ago. His body fell into the sea and was never recovered.

Also active in the region is Jemaah Islamiah, a terror network described by researchers as the Southeast Asian wing of al-Qaeda.

Two weeks ago, President Bush reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to help Manila wipe out Islamic militants in the south.

Another U.S.-Philippines joint counter-terror exercise is being planned, although Admiral Thomas Fargo, head of U.S. Pacific Command, said in Manila on Friday that it would likely be postponed by six months.

See also:
Rescued Missionary Widow Heads Home (June 10, 2002)
Backgrounder: Is Bin Laden Linked to Philippines Mayhem? (May 9, 2000)

September 10, 2003, Religion Today Summaries, Christian Publication Dropped Agape Press, Compiled & Edited by Crosswalk News Staff

A regional Christian publication in Ohio has been dropped by its distributor, the Marc's Discount Store chain, due to complaints from Muslims. Connection Magazine, an award-winning member of the Christian Newspaper Association, recently ran an article about the highly publicized kidnapping of missionaries Gracia and Martin Burnham by Islamic radicals. After spending a year in the Southern Philippine jungle as a prisoner of Abu Sayyaf, a Muslim group known for ransoming hostages, Gracia Burnham was rescued, but her husband Martin was killed in the rescue attempt. According to a Marc's official, a Muslim employee complained that the article in the Christian magazine's September issue was offensive. Marc's claims other customers also complained. Connection's editor Jon Hanna says the magazine has been distributed for some five years without incident. He wonders where such censorship will end. "If Muslims in America can continue to remove Christian publications from public distribution, then it won't be long before the Christian media in America loses its freedom of speech rights," Hanna says. Connection Magazine serves 68 Ohio cities in the Cleveland, Akron, and Canton areas.

July 31, 2004, Agape Press, Widowed Abduction Survivor Testifies Against Muslim Captors, Allie Martin, Agape Press in Religion Today,

As a key witness in the trial of eight Al Qaeda-linked guerillas, American missionary Gracia Burnham has been recounting the year-long ordeal in which she and her husband were held captive by terrorists.

In May of 2001, Gracia and Martin Burnham, who were serving with Florida-based New Tribes Missions, were celebrating their 18th wedding anniversary in the Philippines where they had been working as missionaries, when something happened that would change the course of their lives forever.

The couple was abducted by Muslim terrorists with the Abu Sayyaf group. They were held, along with other hostages, for several months, until an Army raid in June of 2002. That rescue operation, in which Martin Burnham was killed, left his wife with a gunshot wound to her thigh and traumatic memories of their long captivity.

Gracia Burnham returned to Manila to testify as Philippine government officials sought to impose justice on the alleged Muslim rebels accused of holding her and her husband hostage. According to Associated Press reports, Burnham recognized six of the eight suspects, and she recalled on the stand how her captors had referred to themselves as "the Osama bin Laden group" and celebrated after the 9-11 terrorist attacks.

Also, during her testimony against her alleged captors, Burnham pointed to a rusty dog chain and identified it as what the terrorists had used to shackle her husband during their year of captivity in the jungle. She wept twice as she bore witness, including during her description of her husband's death.

Burnham, who wrote about her ordeal in the book In the Presence of My Enemies (Tyndale, 2003), says she has forgiven her captors and encourages Christians to pray for all those misled by Islam.

She speculates that perhaps many Muslims have not observed much love from Christianity down through the ages, and says, "I wonder if that could start with some of us now as we begin to pray and love and forgive. And I think, probably, the thing we need to pray about is that those guys will get to hear the gospel of Jesus in their own tongue."

The missionary-turned-author says that is going to require that some Christians commit themselves to taking the gospel, in Arabic, into the heart of Islam, "which is going to mean there are some martyrs-- and that might even be some of our own children."

Burnham now lives in Kansas with her three children. She says God's grace was evident throughout her ordeal, and she has felt it ever since -- "you know, just the grace God's going to give me to live the rest of my life, expecting God's best. Burnham says even though "Heaven's always on my mind," she remains confident that the best has not come and gone in her life, but that God has many new blessings in store for her and her family.

______________________________________________________________________________

January 27, 2012, The Capital Journal, 7:26 PM, by Phil Anderson,

December 19, 2001, Religion Today, Hostages for Christ: Burnhams Face Grave Danger, by Janet Chismar, Senior Editor, News & Culture

Editor's Note: According to reports issued this morning, June 7, 2002, Martin Burnham and Deborah Yap were killed in an intense firefight between the Abu Sayyaf rebels and the Filipino forces. The third hostage, Martin's wife Gracia Burnham, was wounded by the gunfire in her right leg and reportedly is out of danger.

From June 14, 2001 - "This is a cause worth living for, even dying for, because He is worthy," reads the New Tribes Mission (NTM) vision statement. Death and danger are daily realities in many mission fields, as evidenced by recent events. In April, Baptist missionary Roni Bowers and her infant daughter were mistakenly shot and killed in Peru. NTM reports three of their missionaries are still being held hostage in Columbia. And now, two more join the ranks of the missing.

Martin and Gracia Burnham, NTM missionaries from Wichita, Kan., are among 20 people who were kidnapped May 27 in the Philippines by the militant Islamic group, Abu Sayyaf. The couple had been living and serving in the Nueva Vizcaya province in the Philippines.

New Tribes Mission is a non-denominational group that works with remote tribes in the interior of the country. NTM missionaries are sent by their local churches, from some 25 countries. They serve in a variety of roles - including training and administration, supply buying and Bible translation - in nearly 30 countries. All the missionaries in NTM are involved in the task of planting tribal churches.

According to NTM spokesman Scott Ross, Martin told his parents that he wanted to do something special for Gracia to celebrate their 18th wedding anniversary. So he took her to an upscale resort on one of the islands. It was there that the Abu Sayyaf swooped in and captured the hostages at dawn.

"We came into this work knowing anything can happen and what would be expected of us," says Martin's mother, Oreta. She and her husband are also missionaries in the Philippines. "It is times like these, you know the Lord is the one that is going to have to work this out," Oreta adds.

Ross says that both Martin's and Gracia's parents are doing pretty well, but they crave prayer: "They are strong sometimes and sometimes, they just get worn out."

The last few days have been especially wearing for the families as the Abu Sayyaf threatened to behead the Burnhams and the one other America hostage, Guillermo Sobero. In fact, Abu Sabaya, the leader of the rebel group, is claiming they executed Sobero early Tuesday morning. Reports of the execution are unconfirmed at press time, but of great concern to New Tribes Mission.

"The report cannot be confirmed at this time, but NTM as well as the Philippine and U.S. governments, are taking this very seriously," says Ross. NTM is staying in close contact with sources in Manila and the State Department, he adds.

The execution announcement followed an effort by the Philippine government to negotiate with the rebels, according to Fox News. Earlier Sunday, officials agreed to the rebels' demand for a Malaysian negotiator. The concession occurred minutes before the rebels' deadline to behead one of the American hostages. Sabaya reportedly questioned the sincerity of the concession and said in a radio transmission that he beheaded Sobero anyway.

"It's a real surprise to us," Ross continues. "We felt Sunday night that there had been some type of agreement or understanding reached between the Philippine government and Abu Sayyaf about indefinitely postponing this death threat, so this comes out of the blue for us."

NTM is taking all threats very seriously. According to Ross, "We are aware of the reports about Guillermo Sobero, and we really would be asking for people to be praying for the Sobero family. I am sure they are going through some real difficult times, waiting to see if this situation is confirmed."

The Associated Press says Philippine authorities hoped Sabaya was bluffing -- but seem increasingly resigned he wasn't. A military intelligence task force put the likelihood Sobero was dead at "very, very high," according to Armed Forces Chief of Staff Diomedio Villanueva. Troops scouring a southern Philippine island discovered a decapitated torso Tuesday not far from where the Muslim guerrillas seized hostages last week - but no sign of Sobero.

According to Fox News, when asked whether he would kill an American or a Filipino, Sabaya said: "I will make sure it will be a white. If the Malaysians are allowed to enter, we will release some of the hostages as a good gesture. It's (the government's) responsibility if these white people lose their heads."

The Abu Sayyaf says it is fighting to carve out an independent Islamic state from the southern Philippines, but the government says its members are mere bandits, according to AP. Muslims are a minority in the mostly Roman Catholic Philippines but are a majority in the southern islands that the Abu Sayyaf uses as a base.

Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said Wednesday: "Abu Sayyaf is a scourge to our race. They are a curse to their religion. We will not stop the campaign until we have cleansed Basilan and Sulu of the Abu Sayyaf forces," she said, referring to the southern islands where the rebels are based.

June 9, 2003, Book Recounts Missionary Ordeal in Philippines, by Patrick Goodenough, Pacific Rim Bureau Chief, Pacific Rim Bureau (CNSNews.com)

- A year after a rescue mission in the southern Philippines freed Gracia Burnham from Islamic terrorists' clutches, the former hostage is helping Philippines authorities who are investigating her claims of military collusion with the gang.

At a military base in Zamboanga City on Saturday, Filipino and visiting U.S. troops held a memorial service to mark the first anniversary of the deaths of Martin Burnham, Gracia's husband, and another hostage, Filipina nurse Ediborah Yap.

U.S. Colonel Allan D. Walker and an army chaplain led the service in a chapel in memory of the fallen hostages.

Walker, who is in charge of a taskforce training Philippine infantry troops, was quoted in local media reports as telling the small gathering that "the story is not finished."

"Our combined military forces are still fighting to eliminate those that caused Martin and Ediborah's suffering," he said.

During the first half of last year, U.S. forces trained Philippines troops hunting the Muslim terrorists of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), although the Americans did not take part in combat missions.

Towards the end of the training period, on June 7, 2002, Burnham and Yap were killed during a firefight between local troops and the ASG. Gracia was injured but survived.

Her rescue brought to an end a 376-day ordeal for the missionary couple from Kansas, who had lived and worked in the Philippines for more than 15 years.

In a newly-published book entitled In the Presence of my Enemies, Burnham described how they eked out an existence on the run in the jungles of the lawless southern Mindanao region.

Snatched from a beach resort on a rare, one-night break to celebrate their 18th wedding anniversary, they and 18 others became the property of terrorists claiming to be advancing the Islamic cause - but who made it clear from the start that it was money they wanted.

Half-starved, equally afraid of their murderous captors and of the artillery of the pursuing military, the couple watched as their fellow hostages were one by one ransomed - or killed, as in the case of the only other American in the group, California tourist Guillermo Sobero, who was decapitated days after the abduction.
Burnham wrote that the ASG was disappointed to find out she and her husband were Christian missionaries, aware that missionary organizations generally don't pay ransoms.

Just hours after their capture, "the other hostages were already busy figuring out how much money they could raise," she wrote.

"It seemed that everybody knew this was the name of the game. Muslim advancement may have been the announced overall goal, but cash was the necessary fuel. The bargaining was in full swing."

Five months later, the only hostages left were the Burnhams and Yap.

'Collusion'

The book is a personal account of their suffering and the way the ordeal challenged her faith.

But it also raised questions about military tactics and allegations of collusion between military officers and the terrorists.

On occasion the troops would encounter the moving band of captors and captives, firing indiscriminately and using heavy artillery without apparent thought for the safety of the hostages.

Then when the encounter was over, the ASG would simply move away, with the soldiers failing to pursue them, she said.

Burnham recalled being especially puzzled when troops brought food to the gang.

"This happened several times over the course of a few weeks. Why in the world did President [Gloria] Arroyo's troops provide the Abu Sayyaf with their daily bread?"

She also wrote that military weapons and ammunition had made their way to the ASG.

Also unsettling were episodes such as a call to ASG leader Abu Sabaya's satellite phone from a government official in Manila who, Burnham wrote, reminded the terrorist that "you owe me a favor" and asked him to free a particular hostage.

She also alleged that an unnamed Philippines general tried to obtain half of a ransom sum to be paid for hostages' freedom.

In the past, other former ASG hostages have made accusations of links between terrorists and local military officials.

Because of her published allegations, a senior Philippines justice official recently interviewed Burnham in Rose Hill, Kansas, where she lives with her three children.

A government lawyer, Juan Navera, told reporters in Manila last Friday that investigations into the collusion claims would be completed shortly.

Writing in the Manila Times on Sunday, columnist Toots Ople - who holds a senior position in the Department of Foreign Affairs - rejected a senior military officer's recent claim that Burnham's book vindicated the Philippines military.

"Questions about military competence and sound planning would hound the reader long after he finishes the book," Ople wrote.

She said Philippines lawmakers should read the book as it contained "policy questions that demand serious answers."

'Jihad'

Burnham's book paints a picture of an armed gang of devout Muslims, whose members faithfully read the Koran, prayed and carried out cleansing rituals even when water supplies were limited.

They also proudly associated themselves with Osama bin Laden and the Taliban militia that ruled most of Afghanistan and sheltered the al-Qaeda leader until the U.S. overthrew the regime in late 2001.

When the ASG first seized their captives they introduced themselves as "the Osama bin Laden group" and said the aim of their "jihad" against Manila was to establish a pure Islamic state like the Taliban's.

Burnham also recalls Sept. 12, 2001, when the terrorists heard the news on the Voice of America radio about the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington.

"Of course the word spread rapidly through the camp. Guys huddled in little groups, talking and laughing and congratulating one another," she recalled.

"That night as we [Martin and she] lay down on the ground to sleep, we quietly sang 'The Star-Spangled Banner' together and prayed for the victims so far away."

Continuing U.S. help

Six weeks after Gracia was rescued and the others killed, the U.S. Justice Department filed criminal charges against five ASG leaders, including charges relating to the deaths of Martin Burnham and Sobero.

The group continues to operate in the southern Philippines, although one of the five leaders, Abu Sabaya, was apparently killed in a shootout with the Philippine Navy a year ago. His body fell into the sea and was never recovered.

Also active in the region is Jemaah Islamiah, a terror network described by researchers as the Southeast Asian wing of al-Qaeda.

Two weeks ago, President Bush reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to help Manila wipe out Islamic militants in the south.

Another U.S.-Philippines joint counter-terror exercise is being planned, although Admiral Thomas Fargo, head of U.S. Pacific Command, said in Manila on Friday that it would likely be postponed by six months.

See also:
Rescued Missionary Widow Heads Home (June 10, 2002)
Backgrounder: Is Bin Laden Linked to Philippines Mayhem? (May 9, 2000)

May 28, 2001, The Associated Press, Kansas missionaries kidnapped,

Seized: Couple enjoying wedding anniversary when gunmen raid resort, by Roxana Hegeman,

ROSE HILL -- Martin Burnham told his parents he wanted to do something special for his wife, Gracia, to celebrate their 18th wedding anniversary.

The missionary couple, who live in Nueva Vizcaya province in the Philippines, were staying at an upscale resort in that country when ski-masked gunmen raided it at dawn. The kidnappers fled by boat with about 20 hostages, including the Burnhams and one other American tourist.

Martin Burnham's parents, Paul and Oreta Burnham, were in their Rose Hill home for a three-month sabbatical from their own Philippines mission when they got word early Sunday that their son and daughter-in-law were taken.

"We came into this work knowing if anything happened what would be expected of us," the 64-year-old Oreta Burnham said.

She said she doesn't believe a ransom should be paid for her son and daughter-in-law because that could encourage more kidnappings.

The kidnappings took place in the Dos Palmas Island Resort at Honda Bay in Palawan province, about 375 miles southwest of Manila.

Martin and Gracia Burnham, both 41, have three children ages 14, 11 and 10. The children are also in the Philippines. The Burnhams are missionaries for New Tribes Mission, a non-denominational group that works with remote tribes in the interior of the country.

Scott Ross, the spokesman for New Tribes Mission in Sanford, Fla., declined to discuss the group's policy on paying ransom for kidnappings.

"New Tribe is committed to doing anything they can to see the safe release of hostages," he said.

It appears the Burnhams were picked up as part of a random kidnapping and weren't targeted because they were American missionaries, Ross said.

The older Burnhams say their faith is sustaining them. Paul Burnham, 67, went to a local church Sunday where he had been scheduled to preach. His wife stayed home and handled calls from reporters.

"It is times like these, you know the Lord is the one that is going to have to work this out," Oreta Burnham said.

Paul and Oreta Burnham saw their son Thursday, when he stopped by the family home in Rose Hill during a brief visit to the United States. They say the kidnapping won't keep them from returning to missionary work in the Philippines when their furlough is over on June 7.

"You could go to Wichita or New York and get mugged or something like that. We don't feel at all in danger, and our children feel the same way," Oreta Burnham said. "There are going to be people all over the world that will try to do something. I don't think our location is going to make any difference."

The older Burnhams have two other grown children in missionary work in the Philippines, and another is a missionary in New Guinea. One daughter lives in Rose Hill.
____________________________________________________________________________

May 28, 2001, The Associated Press, Search under way in Philippines for hostages, by Paul Alexander,
Posted: Monday,

MANILA, Philippines -- The Philippine military took to the air and sea in search of two dozen gunmen wearing ski masks who raided an upscale resort Sunday and then fled by boat with about 20 hostages, including three American tourists.

Two of the Americans were identified as Martin and Gracia Burnham, missionaries from Wichita, who have lived in the Philippines since 1986 and have been working for the New Tribes Mission of Sanford, Fla., said Tim Grossman, who was at the organization's Manila office Sunday.

As darkness fell, the airplanes were recalled, and fears were growing of a repeat of the prolonged hostage crisis last year that received worldwide attention and battered the Philippines' international image.

After storming the Dos Palmas Island Resort at dawn, the kidnappers went south, either toward islands that are home to Muslim extremists who seized foreigners 13 months ago or toward Malaysia, which offered the Philippines its cooperation in the matter.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo dispatched her military chief of staff, Diomedio Villanueva, to direct the search-and-rescue effort from Palawan Island, a short boat ride from the resort, and ships and planes fanned out over the Mindanao Sea.

Officials said they thought they knew who the kidnappers were, but they wouldn't identify them.

Speculation has focused on Abu Sayyaf, the Islamic rebel group that raided a Malaysian tourist resort and took 10 foreign tourists hostage on April 23, 2000. All those hostages have since been freed, some reportedly for large ransoms paid by Libya.

Arroyo ordered "all-out war" on Abu Sayyaf in early April, but military officials said the separatist organization has regrouped in the last two weeks. Still, Tourism Secretary Richard Gordon tried to downplay suggestions that the Abu Sayyaf was responsible for Sunday's raid.

There were concerns for the hostages' safety if a showdown developed, said Arroyo's spokesman, Rigoberto Tiglao. He vowed there would be no negotiations or ransom.

The kidnappings took place at the Dos Palmas resort at Honda Bay in Palawan province, about 375 miles southwest of Manila.

Military officials said two dozen men in ski masks took guests and resort staffers at gunpoint in a raid that lasted about 15 minutes. The guests were believed to include 13 Chinese Filipinos, three Americans and at least one child.

The State Department on Sunday cautioned Americans that travel in certain areas of the Philippines was unsafe. Violence during recent political demonstrations, kidnappings of foreigners and bombing incidents call for Americans to exert extreme caution throughout the country, the department said.

Before Sunday, the last American to be taken hostage in the Philippines was Jeffrey Schilling, of Oakland, Calif. Schilling was held by Abu Sayyaf for eight months until government troops rescued him last month.

Mindanao's high seas have long been plagued by Muslim separatists, pirates and other outlaws.

Capt. Djo Jalandoni, with the military's western command, said the abductors might be headed to Jolo Island, where Abu Sayyaf is based. A guard at Dos Palmas, Rudy Gorgonia, said the gunmen spoke Tausug, a dialect of southern Jolo.

A staffer at the 50-acre island resort, contacted by telephone, said police and the military have secured Dos Palmas. Opened in 1998, it has about 50 hotel rooms and seaside cottages -- some built on stilts in a bay.

A military spokesman, Edilberto Adan, said Sunday's kidnappings appear to be unconnected to two attacks last week.

On Thursday, armed men abducted a ferry carrying 42 people, later releasing the passengers but keeping four sailors. Police said the abductors were likely members of Abu Sayyaf, which says it is fighting for a separate Islamic state in the southern Philippines. On Tuesday, dozens of gunmen tried to storm a tourist resort, killing two workers.

Palawan Gov. Joel Reyes offered a reward of $20,000 for information leading to the release of the hostages in Sunday's raid.

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May 29, 2001, The Associated Press, Extremists claim they'll kill hostages if rescue attempt spotted, by Paul Alexander, Tuesday,

MANILA, Philippines -- A Muslim extremist group that snatched 20 people, including two Wichita natives, from an island resort threatened Tuesday to kill all the hostages if it spots the military moving in for a rescue attempt.

The threat from the Abu Sayyaf militants came as the president vowed to crush the group and the military prepared troops to take action swiftly once it locates the kidnappers, who disappeared in boats speeding across the Sulu Sea after seizing the Americans and 17 Filipinos.

"If we encounter the military and find out they are operating against us, we will kill all the hostages," Abu Sabaya, a rebel leaders, said in a statement he made by satellite phone to the Radio Mindanao Network, or RMN, according to station manager Rey Bayoging, who spoke with him.

"We are ready to die fighting. This is suicide," Abu Sabaya said. "The government knows what to do. The government knows our capability."

Abu Sayyaf plagued the government with a series of kidnapping standoffs that endured for months last year -- including the abduction of tourists from a Malaysian resort. It has killed hostages in the past, including two teachers slain last year after the government declared war on the group. During the past kidnappings, the rebels often used privately owned RMN, based in Zamboanga city, to pass messages.

With the government clearly worried over the prospect of another grueling kidnapping, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said Monday she would crush the rebel group.

"To Abu Sayyaf, it's good for you to release all your hostages because if not, bullets will rain on you," Arroyo told a news conference Tuesday. "To the family of hostages seized by rebels -- we're doing everything we can to save your relatives."

But so far, the military has been unable to track down the kidnappers. Gunmen snatched the hostages Sunday morning from the Dos Palmas resort off Palawan Island in the southwestern Philippines.

Sabaya said Monday the gunmen had succeeded in eluding the massive military search in the region and, after dividing the hostages into two groups, had reached strongholds on islands in the Sulu and Basilan provinces of southern Philippines.

But the military said Tuesday it wasn't convinced that was true.

Lt. Gen. Gregorio Camiling, commander of military's southern command, said the militants might still be hiding with their hostages on Cagayan de Tawi Tawi island, which is roughly halfway between Palawan and the southern islands, where the Abu Sayyaf normally operates.

Abu Sayyaf has battled government troops over the past nine months, particularly on Jolo Island in Sulu province, where it held most of the scores of hostages it took last year. Among them was an American, Jeffrey Schilling of Oakland, Calif., was freed in an army raid in April.

Camiling said he has requested additional troops from the Philippines' main Luzon Island, who are standing by to be flown in quickly if the group is found.

Arroyo on Tuesday declared a news blackout on details of military operations and urged journalists to stay away from any rescue efforts, pointing out that Abu Sayyaf took captive some media who went to cover a protracted hostage crisis.

"Our mission is to rescue the hostages unharmed and to neutralize the kidnappers. The president has ordered us to finish them once and for all," Brig. Gen. Edilberto Adan, the military's spokesman, told reporters.

Arroyo said she had a no-ransom policy and offered $2 million in rewards: $100,000 for each Abu Sayyaf leader and $20,000 for each member of the group involved in Sunday's kidnappings.

The Abu Sayyaf says it is fighting for a separate Muslim state in the south of the overwhelmingly Roman Catholic country. But the government calls it a gang of outlaws thriving on kidnapping and piracy.

Sabaya issued what appeared to be a veiled threat Monday against the safety of the hostages, particularly the Americans.

He told radio RMN that Schilling, the former hostage, was not seriously harmed during his eight months in captivity because he was a Muslim convert. Two of the Americans seized Sunday -- Martin and Gracia Burnham of Wichita, Kan. -- are Protestant missionaries who have lived in the Philippines since 1986.

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May 29, 2001, The Associated Press, Abductees center of tug of war, by Paul Alexander,

MANILA, Philippines -- A Muslim extremist group on Monday issued a veiled threat to harm 20 kidnapped tourists -- including three Americans -- while the Philippines president said she would use everything in her power to "crush" the insurgents.

One of the leaders of the Abu Sayyaf rebel group that kidnapped the tourists claimed responsibility in a satellite telephone call to a local radio station Monday. The rebel, named Abu Sabaya, allowed American Martin Burnham and another hostage to speak.

"We are safe, and we are appealing for a peaceful negotiations," said Burnham, who along with his wife, Gracia, is originally from Wichita. "They are treating us well."

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said she wouldn't give in to any ransom demands and instead offered $2 million in rewards for the capture of rebel leaders.

"I am ready to do everything to crush the bandits, to allow the hostages to safely return to their families and to bring back peace," Arroyo said on national television.

"To the bandits, listen closely. I will finish what you have started -- force against force, weapons against weapons. They will only stop hunting you when you're all wiped out or all of you surrender," she said.

The group kidnapped three Americans and 17 Filipinos from the upscale Dos Palmas Island Resort in Palawan province on Sunday.

The same group seized 10 foreign tourists 13 months ago from a Malaysian resort. Most were released for large ransoms, reportedly paid by Libya. The story was in the headlines for months, hurting the tourism industry and undercutting investor confidence.

Claiming he led Sunday's dawn raid, Sabaya issued a veiled threat against the hostages, particularly the Americans.

He told radio RMN that Jeffrey Schilling, an Oakland, Calif., man whom the military freed from the Abu Sayyaf in an April raid after eight months of captivity, wasn't seriously harmed because he was a Muslim convert.

Martin and Gracia Burnham, who went to the resort to celebrate their 18th wedding anniversary, are both Protestant missionaries who have lived in the Philippines since 1986.

The third American was identified as Guillermo Sobero, of Corona, Calif.

"What I can say is we should not compare Jeffrey because Jeffrey is a Muslim, so we hesitated to hurt him. Now, we have three Americans. It is hard for us to be shamed," Sabaya said.

Sabaya made no specific demands but said he was willing to talk to the government: "If you want to negotiate, it's up to you. We're not pushing for it."

He said the hostages had been split into two groups, with the Americans among 10 taken to Basilan province and the rest given to another Abu Sayyaf faction operating in nearby Sulu province.

It was the latest in a nearly constant string of serious challenges Arroyo has faced since she was swept to power Jan. 20 by the same demonstrations that forced out predecessor Joseph Estrada over corruption allegations. The stock market, already in the doldrums over unrest and uncertainty, slipped again Monday, as did the value of the peso.

Although Arroyo is talking peace with two other rebel groups, she ordered "all-out war" on the Abu Sayyaf in early April.

But military officials say the extremists have regrouped in the past two weeks after suffering serious losses during government offensives late last year. The Abu Sayyaf apparently took advantage of the deployment of security forces meant to stem violence related to parliamentary and local elections May 14 and the ongoing counting of votes.

Dressed in military uniforms to fool security guards, the raiders ransacked the resort's white cottages, held up by stilts in the pristine blue waters, and rounded up terrified guests and resort workers at dawn Sunday.

Resort spokesman Alan Fabian told DZMM radio that while no shots were fired, some of the captives were roughed up during the well-coordinated assault that was over in 20 minutes.

It appeared that the fleeing kidnappers slipped through a cordon of military ships and planes under the cover of darkness Sunday night, when the military suspended the air search over the open sea south of Dos Palmas.

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May 31, 2001, The Associated Press, Philippine hostages seen in boat, by Adam Brown,

MANILA, Philippines -- A boat carrying hostages and their Muslim extremist captors was spotted off a southern Philippine island, local radio reported Thursday, one of the first sightings since the weekend kidnappings.

The report came as Philippine military officials said the United States offered to help the Philippines search for the 20 hostages, including three Americans, who were seized at a beach resort Sunday. Two of the Americans seized -- Martin and Gracia Burnham of Wichita, Kan. -- are Protestant missionaries who have lived in the Philippines since 1986.

DZBB radio, quoting local politicians and other residents, said the boat was seen Wednesday night about 150 feet from Kinapusan Island, near where searchers earlier found some hostages' belongings.

The witnesses said the boat was rigged with grenades, and it appeared the explosives could be easily detonated by the captors.

Military spokesman Brig. Gen. Edilberto Adan wouldn't comment on the report.

The Muslim guerrillas from a group known as Abu Sayyaf and their captives were last seen Monday, when two fishermen who were taken hostage jumped overboard and escaped, Adan said.

Meanwhile, Adan said the United States and the Philippines have talked about America loaning surveillance equipment to find the rebels, who fled toward a remote string of dozens of islands after raiding the resort in the western Philippines.

"What we need now is any assistance on information gathering or intelligence gathering," Adan said.

Adan said Thursday that his military lacks aerial and nighttime reconnaissance capability -- not troops.

"What is needed here is information," he said.

U.S. Embassy officials weren't immediately available for comment. But Michael Malinowski, charge d'affaires of the U.S. Embassy in Manila, said after meeting with President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo that the two sides were talking about how to cooperate.

About 24 members of the Abu Sayyaf, which has made millions of dollars in the past by kidnapping foreigners, raided the Dos Palmas resort before dawn Sunday, taking 17 Filipino and three American hostage and speeding southward in high-powered boats. They also abducted five fishermen to help guide and resupply but two escaped and the three others were later released, Adan said.

The last verified sighting was Monday, on the remote southwestern island of Cagayan de Tawi Tawi, when the two fishermen jumped ship. They told the military that the guerrillas were running low on food and fuel, Adan said.

Cagayan de Tawi Tawi lies between the Palawan island group where the hostages were seized and the Jolo island group.

Abu Sayyaf claims it split the hostages into two groups that were taken to separate provinces. The search will be extremely complex, as the area where the Abu Sayyaf operates is scattered with more than 60 islands.

The Abu Sayyaf threatened Tuesday to kill all hostages if the military makes any rescue attempt.

Adan said the military wants to prevent the rebels from reaching Jolo island, keep the group intact and mount a rescue operation.The Abu Sayyaf, which claims to be fighting for a separate Muslim state in this predominantly Roman Catholic country, hasn't made any ransom demands since Sunday. Thirteen months ago, however, it seized 10 foreign tourists from a Malaysian resort and most were released for large ransoms, reportedly paid by Libya.

The Abu Sayyaf has used last year's ransoms to acquire more advanced equipment, such as high-speed boats and high-tech communications equipment, Adan said.

The government has offered $2 million in rewards for the capture of Abu Sayyaf leaders and members

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July 9, 2001, The Associated Press, Extremist leader arrested, Abu Sayyaf: Muslim group holds two Kansans among captives in Philippines, by Jim Gomez,
Posted: Monday,

MANILA, Philippines -- Officials said today they arrested the Muslim extremist leader who planned the kidnapping of 20 people, including two Kansans, from an island resort six weeks ago.

Nadzmie Sabtulah, also known as Commander Global, was described by military officials as the Abu Sayyaf's most respected commander. He is the highest-ranking member of the group to be arrested.

The group, whose leaders say they are fighting for an independent Muslim state in the south, doesn't have one clear chief. The Abu Sayyaf has about five other commanders at Sabtulah's level.

Sabtulah's arrest Sunday night in the southern region of Mindanao was considered the most serious single blow yet to the morale and might of the 1,100-member Abu Sayyaf, which fended off a major military assault last year and is currently fighting at least 5,000 troops.

"This is a big setback for the Abu Sayyaf," National Police Chief Leandro Mendoza said.

The Abu Sayyaf raided the Dos Palmas resort, off the southwestern island of Palawan, on May 27 in the group's second major hostage-taking in a year. The hostages are reportedly held by another commander, Abu Sabaya, on the southern island of Basilan.

Military spokesman Col. Danilo Servando said Sabtulah, suspected of kidnappings at far back as 1988, is believed to be responsible for planning the Dos Palmas assault.

"He's the think tank of the group," Servando said. "He hatches the plan and other groups carry out the mission."

The 40-year-old Sabtulah, known for his trademark beret, scarred jaw and political theories, gained worldwide attention when he and Galib Andang, another commander, won the Abu Sayyaf rebels millions of dollars in ransom to free another group of hostages seized at a Malaysian beach resort last year.

The windfall was so large it affected currency markets in poor areas of the south.

The government last month offered a reward of $100,000 for information leading to Sabtulah's capture. Thousands of wanted posters, showing photos of Sabtulah and five other Abu Sayyaf commanders, were plastered in open air markets and on walls in southern cities and airdropped into remote jungle areas.

Military spokesman Brig. Gen. Edilberto Adan said the capture was a result of the government's offer of reward money.

"The reward system is working because informants are coming out," Adan said.

Mendoza said three other rebels also arrested Sunday night participated in a botched raid in April on a beach resort in the southern island of Mindanao. The gang that raided that resort was driven back by gunfire from resort security staff.

Other Abu Sayyaf members then raided the Dos Palmas beach resort on the southwestern island of Palawan, capturing 20 people, including three Americans.

The rebels took more hostages in raids on a hospital and on a coconut plantation on Basilan island. Some have escaped or been freed, reportedly for ransoms paid by their families.

Island residents recently reported seeing two American captives -- Kansas missionaries Martin and Gracia Burnham -- in Basilan's mountainous heartland, called Sampinit Complex.

Abu Sayyaf commander Abu Sabaya has said he beheaded a third American, Corona, Calif., resident Guillermo Sobero. His body hasn't been found, however, feeding speculation that he may still be alive.

Thousands of troops have been hunting the Abu Sayyaf and their hostages for more than a month on Basilan, about 560 miles south of Manila.

Mendoza said police have set up "monitoring groups" in southern cities and in Manila to watch for Abu Sayyaf members and leaders. Troops continue to pressure the group in their bases on the southern islands of Basilan and Jolo.

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September 2, 2001, The Associated Press, Troops capture members of an extremist group,

ZAMBOANGA, Philippines -- Government troops have captured eight suspected members of an extremist group holding 18 people hostage, including an American couple, the military said Saturday.

The soldiers, who have been pursuing the Abu Sayyaf guerrillas for more than three months, came upon a hastily abandoned rebel camp Thursday in remote Tuburan on Basilan island, army commander Col. Hermogenes Esperon said.

Two suspected guerrillas were cornered in an abandoned hut, and five others captured in a nearby house, he said.

There was no word, however, on whether there was any sign of the hostages.

On Friday, another suspected guerrilla was captured trying to slip through a military checkpoint in the town of Lamitan, the military said.

The Abu Sayyaf guerrillas are still holding Martin and Gracia Burnham, missionaries from Wichita, Kan., who were seized in late May from a resort in Palawan province southwest of Manila. Sixteen Filipinos also believed held captive.

The guerrillas have claimed they beheaded a third American captive, Guillermo Sobero of Corona, Calif., but his body hasn't been found

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May 27, 2002, The Capital-Journal, Editorial, Martin and Gracia Burnham: A year in bondage,

These two gentle Kansans, prisoners in the war with terrorism, do indeed warrant all our resources and prayers.

Military officials are scanning the jungle floor today. Others are searching the skies in prayer. Martin and Gracia Burnham are simply marking a year in captivity.

The missionaries from Wichita were abducted a year ago today by Muslim extremists in the Philippines with links to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida terrorist network. Since then, they've suffered unknown physical and emotional hardships on the run with their captors, and with a Filipino nurse as a fellow hostage.

Martin, 42, and Gracia, 43, were kidnapped on May 27, 2001, by the Abu Sayyaf Muslim extremist group from a resort off the island of Palawan in the Philippines, where they'd been celebrating their wedding anniversary. Martin was raised in the Philippines, where his parents, Paul and Oreta Burnham, have been missionaries for more than 32 years.

Martin and Gracia have spent much of the past year obscured not just by the dense foilage of the south Filipino islands, but also by the fact that they were from Kansas -- rather than, say, the attention-getting coast -- and the fact that they toiled as missionaries very far from the action in Afghanistan.

In fact, on a recent, and rare, national television interview on the subject last week, U.S. Rep. Todd Tiahrt, R-Kan., was actually asked by Fox news analyst Greta Van Sustren how many resources the Burnhams warrant, given their supposed distance from the war on terrorism.

Tiahrt is too much of a gentleman to have evinced outrage at the question, but it was indeed atrocious -- and fairly illuminative of why the Burnhams have suffered in obscurity.

Forget the fact that these two gentle souls, who were devoting their lives to helping others, have undergone a year of torment. Ignore the fact that they're from Kansas -- and that their relatives here have been more than patient and cooperative with the government, rather than jumping on every talk show on cable to press their case. And disregard the fact that the Burnhams aren't exactly at ground zero.

Van Sustren's question is still ignorant and unconscionable from the standpoint that the Burnhams are, indeed, prisoners of war in the battle against terror. Let's not forget that the Abu Sayyaf holding the Burnhams have clear and documented links to bin Laden -- and that a few years ago there was a plot hatching from the Philippines to attack America.

You better believe these hostages warrant every possible action the government can take.

Just as important, they deserve our prayers as well. The Burnhams' New Tribes Mission recently issued a renewed call for prayer for the Burnhams as today's one-year anniversary approached. Churches were asked to pray on Sunday, and individuals were asked to remember to pray today.

In typical form, the Burnhams' parents will be low-key today, giving a few interviews and participating in the national prayer -- thinking that it wouldn't be in the interests of the three Burnham children to make a big deal of the anniversary.

Still, it is a reminder that the rest of us could stand to make a bigger deal of it._____________________________________________________________________________

June 16, 2002 The Associated Press, Faith, mission guided family, by Roxana Hegeman,

When the Burnhams were kidnapped, the family prayed. Now, after Martin's death, the family prays for strength. Posted: Sunday,

ROSE HILL -- The ordeal began on May 27, 2001,

Paul and Oreta Burnham were at their Rose Hill home for what they expected to be a three-month sabbatical from their own missionary work in the Philippines.

The call from the Philippines came at 1:30 a.m. -- telling them that their eldest son, Martin, and his wife, Gracia, were kidnapped while celebrating their 18th wedding anniversary at Dos Palmas Resort off Palawan Island.

Paul and Oreta Burnham had seen their son just days earlier when he was in Kansas for a brief visit. He told his parents he wanted to do something special for his upcoming wedding anniversary when he returned.

Before he left, Martin Burnham gave the devotion at the Rose Hill Bible Church -- telling parishoners to follow God where ever He takes them. It was a message church members would recall months later.

On the morning her son and daughter-in-law were kidnapped, Oreta Burnham said she and her husband prayed that the couple would give testimony through the kidnapping.

"I trust the Lord is making use of Martin and Gracia during this time," she said then.

Oreta and Paul Burnham recently looked at photo albums of their family during their 31 years in missionary work. The Burnhams' oldest son, Martin, and his wife, Gracia, were kidnapped in the Phillipines on May 27, 2001, by Muslim extremists. On June 7, Gracia was rescued, but Martin was killed.

The Associated Press

A family of faith

For the Burnham family, missionary work was a way of life.

Nearly all of them worked at one time for New Tribes Mission, a nondenominational mission that works with remote tribes. Each missionary must raise their own funds to support their own mission work.

The elder Burnhams raised all their children in the Philippines, where Paul and Oreta were translating the Bible for native tribes. Oreta, a nurse, also worked at a clinic.

Their children followed in their footsteps.

Pictured is Martin and Gracia Burnham, from Wichita. Martin Burnham was shot and killed June 7 when Philippine troops launched a strike on the couple's Muslim extremist kidnappers, military officials said. Gracia Burnham was wounded but rescued.

The Associated Press

Martin, then 41, was a pilot. Gracia, then 42, manned the radio during his flights to remote tribes in the Philippines. She also homeschooled the couple's three children: -- Jeffrey, 15; Melinda, 12; and Zachary, 11.

Gracia's parents -- the Rev. Norvin and Betty Jo Jones, of Cherokee Village, Ark. -- pastored a church in Arkansas.

The elder Burnhams also have other grown children in missionary work.

Martin's brother, Brian, and his wife, Arlita, have their own mission in Papua New Guinea. Martin's sister, Cheryl Spicer and her husband, Walter, live in Manila where he is a teacher at Faith Academy and Cheryl cares for their five children and works as a nurse.

Another brother, Doug, and his wife, Teresa, worked as missionaries in the Philippines before health problems forced them to return to the United States.

"It is times like these, you know the Lord is the one that is going to have to work this out," Oreta Burnham said on the day of her son's abduction.

Martin's birthday

From left, Jeff, Zach and Mindy Burnham held up a Father's Day greeting for their father, Martin, in June 2001, less than a month after he was kidnapped by the Abu Sayyaf guerillas in the Philippines. The children still were in the Philippines at the time but later returned to the United States to live with their grandparents in Rose Hill.

The Associated Press

On Sept. 19, Martin Burnham turned 42 while still held in captivity by Muslim extremists.

Days before his birthday, Paul Burnham said Martin's children would think about their father's upcoming birthday, and hope maybe their parents would be released on that date.

The United States was reeling from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Paul Burnham said at the time that President Bush should focus on the terrorists who attacked the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. In an interview with The Associated Press at the time, he said he didn't want the United States to expand their terrorist war to the Philippines.

Glimpses of hope

It is October. Another photograph of the Burnhams with their captors surfaces in a Philippines television station and later on the Internet. It appears to have been taken about the same time as one released of the couple in mid-July.

"As long as they are safe, we are patient to wait for negotiation," Paul Burnham said.

No U.S. ground troops are in the country. And the United States was to provide intelligence, training and equipment to help fight Islamic militants.

"We are trusting them to do what is right," Paul Burnham said at the time. "We feel the United States government is actively involved doing all they can to work with the Philippine government to secure a safe release, rather than putting anyone on a timetable."

A different view

In December, a videotape surfaces giving the Burnham children the first glimpse of their parents since the abduction.

Wearing a Muslim-style head covering, Gracia Burnham looked frightened and her eyes were swollen. Martin Burnham had a beard. Both had lost weight.

"Looks like mom is taking it harder than dad," Jeff told his grandparents as he watched the tape.

Paul Burnham would say later that the children hardly recognized their father.

"They had never seen their father in a beard. It was quite a shock," he said. "They kind of laughed too."

But watching Martin and Gracia's suffering on tape would prove to be a turning point for the family. The family embarked on a nationwide media campaign to bring attention to their plight.

"It was very difficult, but also reassuring that they were still alive," Paul said of the tape. "We also realized they can't hold on much longer."

Gracia's birthday

On Jan. 17, Gracia Burnham turned 43.

Her friends had always done something big for her birthday, and this year they hoped prayers will bring home the hostage missionary and her husband.

Burnham's friends called for the faithful to pray and fast during the 10-day period leading up to her birthday. It ended with a national prayer vigil on her birthday.

A family friend, Kathy Ryff, was one of the organizers. She said the couple's family is "worn out" but are encouraged by a recent visit by U.S. Rep. Todd Tiahrt, R-Kan., to the Philippines to plead their case.

Moving ahead

Seven months after the abductions, Martin's siblings say it is time to get on with their own lives.

For Martin's sister Cheryl Spicer and her husband, Walter, that means going back to the Philippines with their five children.

She and Walter told a Wichita newspaper then that they had been stationed in Manila since 1989, and brought Martin and Gracia's children to Kansas after their parents' abduction.

"We needed to be with our family and sort through the hard issues with what's happened," she said. "But we just don't know how much longer this is going to go on. You have to keep your life moving."

Brian and his wife, Arlita, also return to their mission work in Papua New Guinea. They also wanted to be here when Martin and Gracia returned. But Brian said they also feel a responsibility to their ministry.

An appeal

As U.S. soldiers prepared an exercise aimed at wiping out Muslim extremists, Gracia's sister went to the Philippines in late January and appealed to the Abu Sayyaf group to free the Kansas couple.

"We have no money for ransom," Mary Jones said on Radio Mindanao Network. "We are not a threat to anyone. Harming them will not solve anything and only deprive their children."

Hope resurfaces

In February, a letter reportedly from the Burnhams surfaces at a Philippine television station. The last letter the family had gotten from Martin and Gracia was in November, when a group of hostages were released.

The Associated Press obtains for the family a copy of the handwritten letters.

"It hurts us they are still held captive -- yet we are glad they are able to write, and their hand is steady," Paul Burnham said after reading the letters.

In them, the hostages addressed their children, saying they prayed to be home soon.

"Jeff," Martin Burnham wrote, "I wanted to watch the World Series then the Super Bowl with you, but I don't even know who played. Isn't that funny?" He also wished Jeff, who was turning 15, a happy birthday.

Paul Burnham now said it is good the United States is sending troops to train and equip Philippine troops to do their job.

Martin's parents have said from the day of the abduction that no ransom should be paid because it would only encourage more kidnappings. But now more than eight months later, they are anxious to see them get out as soon as possible.

"Martin and Gracia have been in there for a long time, and the Filipine government should listen to them to see if something can be worked out," he said. "They should be able to work something out."

A step back

In April, Paul Burnham accused the Muslim extremist Abu Sayyaf group of reneging on an agreement to free his son and daughter-in-law.

Paul Burnham called Radio Mindanao Network in the southern Philippines from his home, saying the Abu Sayyaf had added extra, unspecified conditions to the deal he said was finalized March 13, and also was to include the release of Filipino nurse Ediborah Yap.

A year gone by

On the eve of the one-year anniversary of the kidnapping, Martin's parents and the couple's three children gathered at Rose Hill Bible Church to pray.

As he stood at the pulpit before his fellow parishioners, Paul Burnham struggled to maintain his composure as he talked about his son and daughter-in-law.

"Why do people like Martin and Gracia suffer?" he asked. "They were only trying to help people."

He read from the Bible, noting those scriptures that had given him solace in the past year.

Paul Burnham recounted how other released hostages have told the family how Martin and Gracia held on to their Christian faith when all the other hostages, out of fear, converted to Islam.

"It humbles me to realize Martin and Gracia are going through this," he said. "I don't know if I could."

Mourning the loss

On June 7, Paul and Oreta Burnham learn in an early morning call from the Philippines that Martin was killed and Gracia wounded in a rescue attempt by the Philippine military.

The couple's children are at a Missouri lake visiting with their maternal grandparents.

Paul Burnham calls relatives around the world to break the news. A phone still in hand, he answers his front door of his Rose Hill home before dawn breaks.

"The Lord will give us the strength to get through this," he said.
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January 27, 2012, The Capital Journal, 7:26 PM, Religion: Kidnap victim to speak of ordeal, by Phil Anderson,

Former missionary Gracia Burnham, who received national and worldwide attention in 2001 after she and her husband were kidnapped by a radical Islamic group in the Philippines, is returning to Topeka for a presentation.

Burnham, 53, will speak about her experiences at 7 p.m. Thursday in White Concert Hall on the Washburn University campus, near S.W. 17th and Jewell.

Burnham and her husband, Martin, were among a group kidnapped May 27, 2001, by the Abu Sayyaf Group.

The couple, who were serving with New Tribes Mission in the Philippines, were celebrating their 18th wedding anniversary at Dos Palmas Resort off Palawan Island, at the time they were kidnapped. The couple's three children weren't with them at the time.

After they were kidnapped, the Burnhams were taken to Basilan Island and held until June 7, 2002, when Martin Burnham was killed in a fire fight between the Philippine military and the Abu Sayyaf Group. Gracia was wounded in the fire fight, but escaped.

At her previous appearance at White Concert Hall, which took place in February 2005 and attracted a capacity crowd of more than 1,400 people, Burnham said, “It’s an honor and a privilege to follow Jesus, and I determined long ago that I would follow him anywhere.”

Burnham’s appearance is being sponsored by Christian Challenge and Washburn Student Government.
Those attending are invited to bring goods or monetary donations to support Washburn Student Government’s “Can Emporia” drive. All donations will go to food pantries in the Topeka area.
In other religion news:

■ Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University will be offered at 6:30 p.m. Mondays starting Jan. 30 at Fairlawn Church of the Nazarene, 730 S.W. Fairlawn. Call (785) 272-6322 for more information.

■ The Luther College Nordic Choir, hailed as one of the top collegiate choirs in the nation, will perform at 7 p.m. Thursday at Grace Episcopal Cathedral, 701 S.W. 8th. Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for seniors and students and are available at www.luthetickets.com, the cathedral office and the door.

■ St. John African Methodist Episcopal Church, 701 S.W. Topeka Blvd., will have a ham-and-bean dinner from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 28. Voter registration also will be available.

■ Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church will have a “Rekindle the Flame” mission at 7 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 29, through Wednesday, Feb. 1. The mission will be presented by the Rev. Victor Karls. Refreshments will be served nightly.

■ University United Methodist Church, 1621 S.W. College, will have a food fundraiser from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 29. The menu will include soup, chili, chili dogs and dessert. Proceeds will go to Camp Chippewa scholarships for low-income children from Fellowship and Faith Ministries. A minimum $5 donations per meal is requested.

The University church also will have a retirement reception from 12:30 to 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 29, for the Rev. Brenda Fluellen.

■ Bethel Baptist Church, 4011 N. Kansas Ave., will show the movie “Courageous” at 6 p.m. Sunday. A freewill offering will be received.

■ Sweeten Your Marriage Ministry will present a three-day event titled “The H.E.L.P. — Hope, Empower, Love and Protect” from Friday, Feb. 3, to Sunday, Feb. 5, at the Capitol Plaza Hotel, 1717 S.E. Topeka Blvd. Workshops are $15 per person or $25 per couple. A candlelight dinner on Saturday, Feb. 4, is $75 per couple. For tickets or more information, call (785) 235-0404 or visit www.sweetenyourmarriage.com.
Phil Anderson can be reached at (785) 295-1195 orphil.anderson@cjonline.com. Follow him on Twitter @Philreports. Read his blog at CJOnline.com/blog/perspectives.

October 10, 2001, New York Times, Global Links; Other Fronts Seen, by Tim Weiner,

Correction Appended

WASHINGTON, Oct. 9— Terrorists tied to Osama bin Laden's network and based in the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia are among the likely targets of future covert and overt American actions, United States officials said today.

The officials gave no timetable; they said the campaign against the groups linked to Mr. bin Laden and his group, Al Qaeda, is global and may last for years. But they said that the East Asian groups have expanded their operations in recent years, exchanging money, personnel, materiel and experience with the bin Laden organization and its allies, and that they pose a clear and present danger to American institutions overseas.

"There has been a concerted effort by bin Laden and his people to expand their activities in East Asia, not only in the Philippines but in Malaysia and Indonesia," a United States official said. "The Philippines have become a major operational hub, and it's a serious concern. People linked to bin Laden are not only in Manila but elsewhere in the Philippines."

The groups have thrived in the political and economic instability in the Philippines, a predominantly Roman Catholic country, and in Indonesia, which is predominantly Muslim; street protests against the airstrikes on Afghanistan took place today outside the American embassies in both countries. In recent years, the fundamentalist groups have gained adherents in the name of a holy war against American institutions and influence, officials said.

The United States ambassador to the United Nations, John D. Negroponte, told the Security Council on Monday that the United States, acting in self-defense after the Sept. 11 attacks, may take "further actions with respect to other organizations and other states."

Mr. Negroponte, an American ambassador to the Philippines in the 1990's, cited no groups or states by name. But administration officials have said repeatedly that Mr. Bin Laden has adherents and allies all over the world, and that the war against them will range far beyond Afghanistan. East Asia, and particularly the Philippines, officials said, is an area where terrorists who have struck the United States before are known to have planned their attacks.

Militant Islamic groups in East Asia -- chief among them, the Abu Sayyaf group, based in the Philippines -- are high on the list of American counter-terrorism targets to come, officials said today.

Hundreds of Abu Sayyaf fighters are battling the Philippine army on Basilan, an island in the south. The group has taken two American hostages: Martin and Gracia Burnham, missionaries from Wichita, Kan.

The Burnhams were celebrating their 18th wedding anniversary in May, when they and a third American, Guillermo Sobero of Corona, Calif., were kidnapped from a resort on Palawan, a large western island of the Philippine archipelago. Mr. Sobero may be dead, officials said.

The Abu Sayyaf group, which is on the official United States list of terrorist organizations, has obtained millions of dollars in ransom from kidnapping tourists, missionaries and resort workers. Libyan representatives played a role in the release of some hostages for ransom, State Department officials said.

The group has used ransom money to buy weapons and speedboats, to pay recruits and to bribe Philippine soldiers, American officials suspect.

Members of Abu Sayyaf, which says it is fighting for a separate Islamic nation, have links to the bin Laden organization, officials said.

The leader of the group is known as Abdujarak Abubakar Janjalani. He is a Filipino Muslim who has said he fought alongside the Afghan rebels battling the Soviet invaders of Afghanistan during the 1980's.

Al Qaeda's connections in the Philippines include Islamic schools and charities through which millions of dollars have flowed to support the group and its allies across South and East Asia, officials said.

They include the International Islamic Relief Organization office and Al Makdum university in Zamboanga, a city on the island of Mindanao, just north of Basilan island. Mr. bin Laden's brother-in-law, Mohammed Jalal Khalifa, was an administrator at both institutions. Neither is operating any longer, and Mr. Khalifa was arrested by the Saudi government after the Sept. 11 attacks.

Also since the attacks, Philippine intelligence officers have arrested two suspected Abu Sayyaf commanders and several men they described as foreigners carrying bombs. Malaysia has charged the son of a leading opposition politician with plotting to overthrow the government. Indonesia has imprisoned two Malaysians in connection with a series of bombings.

In Indonesia, armed Islamic fundamentalist groups have received money, men and arms from the bin Laden group and its allies, officials said. One group, Laskar Jihad, they said, has been reinforced by Taliban guerrillas. Another, the Islamic Defenders Front, is threatening violence against American officials and organizations.

Some members of Al Qaeda have transited through the international airport at Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, officials said. One of the Sept. 11 hijackers, Khalid Al-Midhar, was videotaped at a terrorist meeting in Kuala Lumpur in January 2000.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo of the Philippines said recently that ''traces of relationship'' exist between the Abu Sayyaf guerrillas and the Sept. 11 attack plotters. She has offered the United States airspace and the use of two large former United States military installations, the Clark Air Base, and the Subic Bay naval base, for transit and staging operations.

The offer was secured in a meeting at Subic Bay two weeks ago between Adm. Thomas Fargo, commander of the Pacific Fleet, and Rolio Golez, the Philippine national security adviser, both 1970 graduates of the United States Naval Academy.

President Bush is scheduled to discuss the counter-terrorism campaign with the presidents of the Philippines and Indonesia and the prime minister of Malaysia in Shanghai on Oct. 19 at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting.

Terrorists aiming to attack the United States have been based in the Philippines for years.

Ramzi Yousef, a convicted ringleader in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, plotted in Manila to blow up 11 jumbo jets headed for the United States. He was arrested in Pakistan at a rooming house financed by Mr. bin Laden. His roommate in Manila, Abdul Hakim Murad, had a commercial pilot license and plotted to crash a jet into the Central Intelligence Agency headquarters in Virginia.

And Mohammed Saddiq Odeh, convicted in the 1998 bombing of the United States Embassy in Nairobi, was a student in the Philippines when he first came to the bin Laden organization.

Photos: Philippine troops secured an area where they had overrun an Abu Sayyaf hideout on Basilan island this week. Muslim guerrillas fighting there are said to have links to Osama bin Laden's organization, Al Qaeda. (Associated Press)(pg. B5) Chart/Map "AT A GLANCE: A Terror Group In the Philippines" The Bush administration has called the Abu Sayyaf Group a foreign terrorist organization. Operating primarily in the southern Philippines, the group is fighting on Basilan and is holding two American hostages. According to estimates by Philippine intelligence, the group has about 1,100 men with over 350 firearms. (Source: Jane's) Maps highlight other cities where the Abu Sayyaf Group operates and Abu Sayyaf Group's main operating area.

Correction: October 12, 2001, Friday A front-page article on Wednesday about the possibility of action by the United States against terrorist groups in the Philippines and Indonesia misidentified the leader of Abu Sayyaf, an organization tied to Osama bin Laden that operates from the Philippines. The leader was believed to be Khaddafi Janjalani. (Abdujarak Abubakar Janjalani was his brother, who founded and headed the group but was reportedly killed in a firefight in the Philippines in 1998.)

November 27, 2001, New York Times, U.S. Couple Held in Philippines Describe Their Ordeal on Tape, by Don Kirk,

ZAMBOANGA, Philippines, Tuesday, Nov. 27— An American missionary couple who have been held for six months near here by Muslim guerrillas described the hardships of captivity in a videotape shown on television on Sunday and Monday.

The videotape was the first shown of the couple, Gracia and Martin Burnham, since they were taken captive with 18 others in May by Abu Sayyaf guerrillas, who have been linked to Osama bin Laden.

The Abu Sayyaf leader, Abu Sabaya, was also shown on camera and signaled that he would free the couple if ransom were paid."

Looking frightened and gaunt, the Burnhams painted a harrowing picture of their life with the Abu Sayyaf. Mrs. Burnham said both she and her husband "have sores in our mouths because there's no nutrition in the things we are eating."

The interview was conducted by a Philippine freelance journalist, Arlene de la Cruz, in a jungle hideout in Basilan Province. At one point, Mrs. Burnham broke down in tears as she talked about her longing to see her children, and her love for them and her husband.

The interview was broadcast by Net 25, a small station identified with Iglesia ni Cristo, a Philippine Christian congregation. The conditions under which the journalist was allowed to make the tape were not explained.

The tape was broadcast as the government held elections today for a new governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, comprising five predominantly Muslim provinces, including Basilan.

The departing governor, Nur Misuari, staged a revolt a week ago on Jolo, the base of his support, then fled to Malaysia, where he was captured on Saturday.

[Gunmen loyal to Mr. Misuari took scores of civilians hostage early Tuesday after the rebels were attacked by government helicopter gunships and bomber planes on the outskirts of Zamboanga, Reuters reported, quoting Red Cross officials. The officials and residents said at least 160 people, including women and children, were seized.

[Mr. Misuari's followers have been quiet but have made no attempt to hide their heavy weaponry. Military officials said they were given an ultimatum to surrender on Monday, but most ignored it.]

Mr. and Mrs. Burnham and a Philippine nurse are the only hostages still held by the Abu Sayyaf group, who beheaded several others, including the only other American, Guillermo Sobero.

The Burnhams, from Wichita, Kan., were celebrating their 18th wedding anniversary when they were seized in a raid on a resort hotel. The couple, missionaries in the area for 15 years, have three children, ages 10, 12 and 14.

Mr. Burnham said he was sure his parents, brothers and sisters in Kansas were "surrounding my children with love, but there's no substitute for parents, and we would like to be there."

February 9, 2002, New York Times, Botched Siege Under Scrutiny In Philippines, by Jane Perlez,

On a moonlit night last June, 30 heavily armed guerrillas forced nearly a score of hostages -- including Martin and Gracia Burnham, an American missionary couple -- into a village hospital here on the island of Basilan.

It was the first time that the entire leadership of Abu Sayyaf, a Filipino gang that professes Islam and has collected large ransoms, had dared to come out of its mountain hideouts and onto the coastal plain. The Philippine Army, which has been chasing the group for more than a decade, finally had its quarry in one accessible place.

But after a 17-hour siege by an underequipped junior company of army scouts, the Abu Sayyaf leaders escaped out the backdoor of the hospital. They returned to their remote jungle lairs with most of their hostages, but not a well-to-do Filipino man and his female companion, who apparently bought their freedom.

The escape raised questions about the ability of the Philippine Army to hunt down Abu Sayyaf and whether some soldiers took a cut of the ransom in exchange for allowing the group to flee with its remaining hostages -- including the Burnhams -- lashed to the gunmen by rope.

It is this army to which 650 American soldiers are now being dispatched to assist in what the Bush administration calls the new phase in the war on terror. Abu Sayyaf once had links to Al Qaeda, although these seem to have gone cold in the late 1990's. The American troops are supposed to rescue the Burnhams, eliminate the last remnants of Abu Sayyaf and improve an army still weakened by allegations of abiding corruption.

"They were allowed to get away," said Senator Sergio Osmena 3rd, the grandson of a former Filipino president, in an interview in Manila. "I have made a big deal out of this because the capability of the military to capture the hostages is limited by corruption." He said he was convinced that part of the ransom for the release of the wealthy Filipino businessman, Reghis Romero, and his companion, had been given to officers on Basilan.

Mr. Osmena said he had been asked by a senior Filipino official to lend his Cessna plane to deliver ransom money and was told that it would be divided into three parts: 10 million pesos, or about $200,000, for Abu Sayyaf; 5 million pesos, or $100,000, for the army; and 2 million pesos, or $40,000, for local government officials. A Roman Catholic priest, the Rev. Cirilo Nacorda, whose parish church is next to the memorial hospital and who was present during the shootout, confirmed the senator's account.

Many army officers, and some Filipino and American officials, describe Abu Sayyaf as a thuggish group mostly engaged in kidnap-for-ransom but also capable of apparently gratuitous brutality, like the casual beheading of a dozen plantation workers on Basilan last summer.

The group's founding members received military training in Afghanistan in the war against the Soviet Union, and later in Libya. Their reach of operations is limited to the waterways around the southern Philippines; their most sophisticated equipment, aside from their weapons, is a four-engine speedboat, dubbed the Volvo, and a collection of satellite and cell phones.

Last June's shootout at Jose Torres Memorial Hospital in the Basilan village of Lamitan resulted in a parliamentary investigation that centered on whether Philippine Army officers got a cut of the ransom. It was unclear why the army, with 5,000 to 7,000 soldiers on a 20-mile-by-30-mile island, could not overwhelm a force with a hard-core membership estimated to be fewer than 100.

American officials speak gingerly about the Philippine Army. After President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo seized the opportunity last fall and swiftly joined the Bush administration's war on terror, Washington pledged $100 million in equipment to the military here. America is now deploying soldiers here again, stirring a furor in a country that voted in 1991 to end a century of a nearly unbroken American military presence.

One American official called it mind-boggling that Abu Sayyaf was allowed to get away last June. Another official said only: "One would have thought that that would be the end of them."

The saga of last year's shootout began in the dawn hours of May 27 when masked gunmen blazed their way into the Dos Palmos resort on Palawan Island. The raid was planned by the Basilan faction of Abu Sayyaf, which had long been envious of a rival faction that kidnapped European tourists from a nearby Malaysian island in 2000 and eventually received a reported $10 million to $15 million in ransom.

On Palawan last May, the Burnhams, of Wichita, Kan., had been celebrating their 16th wedding anniversary. Buddy Reico, the publisher of the monthly magazine, Travel Update Philippines, was also vacationing at Dos Palmos with his wife, Divine, their 8-year-old son, R. J., and his sister-in-law, Angelica. He recalled how the vacationers and some hotel staff members were shoved onto a speedboat in their night attire.

Each adult was brought to Abu Subaya, the self-styled spokesman of Abu Sayyaf. "He said there are three ways you can be connected to Islam: as a friend of Islam, to be a Muslim or to be an enemy of Islam," Mr. Reico recalled. "He said when you choose to be a friend of Islam you have to give to Islam." Mr. Subaya quickly sized up what each person could contribute.

"I told him I couldn't afford millions. He said: 'You're a journalist. You can do press releases for us.'" During the negotiations, Mr. Subaya used a satellite phone to reach the Philippines, apparently to arrange a ransom for Mr. Romero, the wealthy businessman, Mr. Reico said.

After a four-day boat ride in the searing sun, the hostages landed on Basilan, where they were forced to trek through jungle so dense that even the ferns had thorns. Badly scratched and bruised, they were eventually loaded onto a jeep and taken at midnight to the hospital.

By 2 a.m., according to accounts by the military, the squad of army scout rangers, young military graduates who had not quite finished their training, drove up and were ambushed. An Abu Sayyaf sniper killed three of the soldiers. A video shot by a television reporter, Howie G. Severeno, shows a group of scared-looking rangers discussing what to do because they had run out of bullets. Meanwhile, Abu Sayyaf was using rocket-propelled grenades.

By about 11 a.m., Mr. Romero, the construction magnate, and his female companion were released, Mr. Reico said. The gunmen agreed to release the publisher's son at the same time. A few hours later, the gunmen herded the hostages together and said they were leaving out the backdoor. The publisher said he was amazed to see no soldiers at the back entrance. Mr. Reico and his wife escaped by falling to the ground when the group was attacked, apparently by local militia, a few yards from the hospital compound.

The Burnhams, now in their eighth month of captivity and reportedly very thin, were less fortunate. The American couple and a Filipino nurse are the last of the group still in captivity. One American, Guillermo Sobero, was beheaded by the guerrillas a week after the siege. Most of the other hostages, including Mr. Reico's sister-in-law, were released after negotiating ransoms. The parliamentary inquiry revealed serious shortcomings in the army's performance.

A nurse from the hospital testified that Maj. Gen. Romeo Dominguez, the commander of a task force on Basilan, came into the room of a nearby district hospital during the shootout and opened an attaché case packed with 1,000-peso bills. She described a case suited for carrying 5 million pesos, Senator Osmena said.

Senior army officers acknowledged at the inquiry that no serious reinforcements were called to back up the underequipped scout rangers. The army chief of staff, Angelo T. Reyes, said: "We made mistakes," but firmly denied any bribery. General Dominguez also denied that he had received money from Abu Sayyaf. No one at the top of the army has been held responsible. The Catholic Bishops' Conference of Mindanao called last week for an independent investigation.

Some officers were quietly removed from their posts on Basilan, although not demoted. President Arroyo promoted General Dominguez.

April 1, 2002, New York Times, Hopes for Easter Release of Missionary Couple Held in Philippine Jungle Prove Unfounded, by Jane Perlez,

Expectations that an American missionary couple held hostage for 10 months would be freed Easter weekend collapsed this evening apparently after the failure of back-channel negotiations, and after the Philippine military admitted that it had been unable to locate the couple's captors.

The Philippine officer in charge of the operation, Gen. Roy Cimatu, who was away from his command post for the holiday, said he and his 6,000 troops were "trying our best to rescue" the couple, Martin and Gracia Burnham, from a small Muslim extremist group, the Abu Sayyaf. The couple are being held in dense jungle on Basilan, a roughly 20-mile-by-30-mile island in the southern part of the Philippines.

The group now only has about 60 members, American officials said.

Despite the overwhelming military manpower and the recent addition of American intelligence devices, the general's men were unable to pinpoint the exact location of the captors or their captives, he said in a telephone interview.

It was unclear if the failure to win the Burnhams' release was due to interference by the Philippine Army into negotiations said to be proceeding, or whether the negotiations were hampered for other reasons. There have been frequent charges in the Philippines of collusion between the army and Abu Sayyaf.

American Special Forces landed on Basilan Island two months ago as part of the Bush administration's war on terror and to speed the release of the Burnhams. But the 150 troops have held back from organizing an assault in deference to the Philippine Army, which has maintained that it was responsible for finding and releasing the couple.

Even so, American officials have said that military action to free the couple was highly unlikely because the Philippine military was not confident it could pull off an operation without killing the Burnhams.

The American soldiers have not been on patrol with Filipino soldiers pursuing the Abu Sayyaf. Expressing frustration with the Philippine military, an American official said the army knew the Abu Sayyaf well because of the close conditions on the island and because of the ease of intercepting radio communications.

The United States ambassador here, Francis J. Ricciardone Jr., and most of the embassy staff canceled their Easter plans to be in Manila should the Burnhams be released.

If the couple, known to be suffering from tropical diseases and exhaustion from forced marches in the jungle, did not emerge from captivity this weekend, hope for their survival would fade, the officials said.

Despite the pledges by General Cimatu that his men were intent on freeing the Burnhams, American officials based their hopes on back-channel arrangements between the Abu Sayyaf and Filipino negotiators.

The officials suggested that a ransom payment to win the release of the couple and a Filipina nurse who is also being held had either been paid or was under discussion. The size of the payment was not made clear, nor was its origins.

American officials said several days ago that they believed that behind-the-scenes activity made this weekend the likliest date yet for the release of the Burnhams and the nurse, Eldiborah Yap.

By tonight, the plans and signals on which the hopes were based appeared to have gone awry.

At the start of the Easter holidays, stories went out that only Ms. Yap would emerge, an outcome that Filipino reporters were told to expect.

By Saturday, that result was ruled out when word spread from military sources that a runner sent in to fetch Ms. Yap turned back after encountering Filipino soldiers on the way into the Abu Sayyaf sanctum.

Tonight, there was only silence about the Burnhams.

For the Abu Sayyaf, the Burnhams represent the best insurance against an all-out attack by the military.

The army's inability to locate the guerrillas, who keep the Burnhams with them at all times and who have a significant support base on the impoverished island, has been a major stumbling block.

Confirming that assessment tonight, General Cimatu said that his men knew a lot about the Abu Sayyaf, including the fact that one of its senior members died this morning of wounds from a fight with Filipino soldiers, but not its location.

''We get information from relatives of the group who tell you about the death of a member but will not tell you about the location of the group,'' General Cimatu said. ''The Abu Sayyaf are not ordinary criminals. They are smart. They can blend with their relatives, and blend with the terrain.''

The general was appointed to head the army's southern command last year after accusations in Parliament about collusion between the military and the Abu Sayyaf. A parliamentary hearing on whether army officers shared in a ransom payment to the Abu Sayyaf last year failed to yield a final report.

June 8, 2002, New York Times, Muslims' U S Hostage Is Killed In Gun Battle in the Philippines Jane Perlez

Martin Burnham, an American missionary held hostage in the Philippines for more than a year by a Muslim guerrilla group, was killed today during a gun battle between his captors and Filipino soldiers trained by United States troops. His wife, Gracia, was wounded.

A Filipino nurse, Ediborah Yap, who was also being held by the guerrillas, known as Abu Sayyaf, was wounded and died soon afterward, the Philippine military said.

The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Richard B. Myers, said in Brussels that American troops had not been directly involved in the incident, which took place in the jungles of Zamboanga del Norte, in Mindanao Province, 500 miles south of Manila. He said the Americans were providing general training with no special emphasis on hostage rescue.

The commanders of the 1,200 American troops in the area were consulted on the rescue plans, a Pentagon spokesman said, but help was limited to "planning and technical assistance," including intelligence about Abu Sayyaf's movements.

The confrontation came after an intense six months of American effort, beginning with the dispatch of troops in January, to find a way to free the Burnhams.

Senior Philippine officials said Mr. Burnham, 42, had been shot.

Col. Renato Padua of the Philippine Army Scout Rangers, who were involved in the operation, was quoted by news agencies as saying Mr. Burnham "was executed by the Abu Sayyaf rebels" when they realized a rescue effort was under way.

But the Pentagon spokesman, Lt. Cmdr. Jeff Davis, said the gun battle was a "chance encounter during a larger operation," not a planned rescue effort.

According to Philippine military accounts, a company of Scout Rangers closed in on the guerrillas, the Burnhams and Ms. Yap early this afternoon near two towns, Sibuco and Sirawai.

At the first gunfire, Mrs. Burnham, 43, managed to run away and fell into the hands of Scout Rangers, said the military spokesman, Brig. Gen. Eduardo Purificacion.

After the firefight, Mr. Burnham was found dead and Ms. Yap died a few moments later, Gen. Narcisco Abaya, deputy chief of staff of the Philippine armed forces, said.

Mrs. Burnham suffered a gunshot wound to the right thigh. Emaciated and wearing camouflage shorts and shirt, she was evacuated, first to a Philippine military hospital in Zamboanga City, then to Manila, for treatment of the wound and of tropical diseases contracted during her rugged jungle experience at the hands of her captors.

A Pentagon official said that in the firefight, four Abu Sayyaf guerrillas were killed and the rest, about 50, fled.

President Bush said the Philippine president, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, had assured him in a telephone conversation that her government would hold the "terrorist group accountable for how they treated these Americans" and that "justice would be done."

On national television President Arroyo, who has firmly backed the American antiterror campaign, said: "I commiserate with the Burnham and Yap families. This has been a long and painful trial for them, for our government, for our country."

Almost immediately after the arrival of United States troops, including Special Forces, in January, American military officials questioned the Philippine forces' ability to mount a successful rescue operation, given the deep jungle, the troops' lack of experience and, the Americans added, an apparently symbiotic relationship between some soldiers and the guerrilla group.

The efforts to free the hostages from guerrilla hideouts on Basilan island sputtered for many months, and in the past two weeks, the Philippine military moved their operations from Basilan, where the Burnhams were taken after their capture, to the much bigger island of Mindanao, where the gun battle took place.

The Burnhams, missionaries with the New Tribes Mission, were on vacation at a Philippine resort on Palawan Island when they were kidnapped on May 27, 2001, with 18 other vacationers and ferried by Abu Sayyaf to Basilan. The only other American in the group, Guillermo Sobero, of Corona, Calif., was executed by the guerrillas several weeks later.

Gradually the Filipino hostages were released, apparently on payment of ransoms. Ms. Yap was taken hostage after the group reached Basilan.

Although the American troops were not sent specifically to rescue the couple, their activities included advising the Filipinos on carrying out rescue operations, officials said.

The Americans flew sophisticated spy planes to help pinpoint the hostages in the dense jungle. American eavesdropping equipment intercepted satellite-phone calls made by the guerrillas and, Filipino officials said, even heard them ordering provisions for the Burnhams, including peanut butter.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Central Intelligence Agency were also helping the Filipinos, American officials said.

The Scout Rangers, who have received training from the American forces in target shooting and the use of specialized equipment, are not rescue specialists. But American officials consider them among the most combative and least corrupt of the Philippine troops.

Another group of about 60 Filipino soldiers, the Light Reaction Company, were specifically trained by the Pentagon in hostage rescue last year, American officials said. A Pentagon review of the Light Reaction Company's operations several months after the training pointed to a number of problems, including the reluctance of senior Philippine military commanders to deploy the unit.

The Light Reaction Company was near the confrontation today but was not involved, Philippine officials said.

In December, the guerrillas released a television interview with the Burnhams, who looked thin and anxious after six months on the run with their captors. They complained then of illness, of long forced marches in the jungle and of little to eat.

In late January, several teenage boys who had worked as porters for Abu Sayyaf said the Burnhams were suffering from severe sores on their legs and arms.

In April, a ransom of nearly $300,000 was paid to Abu Sayyaf with money raised by the hostages' families. The Bush administration eased its opposition to such payments and acquiesced in the plan in the hope that it would free the couple and avoid the necessity of a military rescue, administration officials said.

But the payment, which was funneled to Abu Sayyaf through the Philippine police, did not result in a release.

The parents of Mr. Burnham, Paul and Oreta Burnham, who served with the New Tribes Mission in the Philippines for 35 years, said today at their home in Rose Hill, Kan., that President Arroyo had called them to express her sorrow.

"The Lord will give us the strength to get through this," Mr. Burnham said.

The younger Burnhams lived for 18 years in a town north of Manila, where Mr. Burnham was based as a missionary pilot. They brought up their three children, Jeff, Mindy and Zach, in the Philippines. The children, now 15, 12 and 11, are in the United States with Mrs. Burnham's parents, Norvin and Betty Jo Jones, in Cherokee Village, Ark.

Abu Sayyaf began as a radical Islamic group more than a decade ago.

At that time, its mission was to establish a Muslim state in the southern Philippines. The founding members received military training in Afghanistan during the war against the Soviet Union, and later in Libya. The group is believed to have had ties to Al Qaeda, but Filipino officials said those links faded in the mid-1990's.

The group later became more interested in kidnap-for-ransom. By early this year, the core membership was believed to be fewer than 100.

June 9, 2002, New York Times, Careless, Weary Rebels Left a Trail for Philippine Army, by Raymond Bonner with Carlos Conde,
Carelessly discarded candy wrappers and pieces of coconut meat on a jungle trail led Philippine Army rangers to a band of Abu Sayyaf guerrillas, resulting in the fierce gun battle on Friday that left an American hostage dead and another seriously wounded, Philippine soldiers said today.

The jungle was so thick, though, and the rain so heavy, that the soldiers not only caught the guerrillas by surprise but they also did not realize how close they were to the rebels even though they had seen footprints on the trail that morning. The soldiers had lunch on a hill without realizing that the guerrillas were hiding on the edge of a creek beneath them.

"Apparently, Abu Sayyaf didn't know that we were in the area," said Sgt. Rodney Magbanua, a leader of one of the two teams that had been on patrol in Zamboanga del Norte Province.

It was not until after the soldiers had finally spotted and approached the rebels, leading to a firefight, and the shooting had stopped that the Philippine soldiers realized that they had found the group that was holding two American missionaries -- Martin Burnham, who was killed during the encounter, and his wife, Gracia, who was wounded -- and a Filipino nurse, Ediborah Yap, who was also killed.

The operation was monitored by a team of American soldiers at a combined American-Philippine headquarters a few miles away, a senior Philippine military official said this evening.

"They were there coordinating and lending support," he said without elaborating.

There have been conflicting reports on whether Mr. Burnham was executed by the Abu Sayyaf guerrillas or was killed in cross-fire. Today, a senior Philippine official said Mr. Burnham had been killed in cross-fire, by Philippine soldiers.

Because of the dense jungle and heavy rain, it had been hard for the soldiers to know whom they were firing at, he said.

The American Embassy apparently accepts this account. "It does not matter which bullet killed Martin Burnham because we hold Abu Sayyaf fully responsible," the American ambassador, Francis J. Ricciardone Jr., told the Philippine national security adviser, Roilo Golez, Mr. Golez said. An embassy spokesman said Mr. Golez had been authorized by the embassy to make that statement.

The Burnhams, of Rose Hill, Kan., were seized by the Abu Sayyaf guerrillas just over a year ago, while celebrating their 18th wedding anniversary at a resort on Palawan Island.

It is often said that Abu Sayyaf has links to Osama bin Laden's network, Al Qaeda, but American officials say these links are tenuous at best. The group, which once espoused extremist Islamic views, over the years has degenerated into little more than thugs who engage in kidnappings for ransom, officials say.

The Bush administration, in its first major antiterrorism foray abroad, aside from Afghanistan, sent 1,000 troops to the Philippines, to train its army so that it could more effectively pursue the Abu Sayyaf guerrillas and try to rescue the hostages. About 600 American troops, including 160 Special Forces, were operating on Basilan, the tiny island where the Burnhams were being held.

The United States sent some of its most sophisticated spy planes and equipment to help locate the Burnhams.

A couple of weeks ago, a group of Abu Sayyaf guerrillas, with their hostages in tow, slipped off the island and made their way to Mindanao, a large island to the north, where the United States command for the training operation has its headquarters.

A looming question is how the guerrillas, who in the past were said to have bribed Philippine military officers in order to remain active, managed to elude all the Philippine and American forces on Basilan.

Mr. Golez, the national security adviser, bristled at that question. "Why don't we focus on the fact that we found them?" he said.

A senior Philippine official said, "Our navy has very limited resources."

Planning of the operation that resulted in the shootout on Friday with the rebels holding the hostages began in early May. The operation itself began on May 27.

"The Americans helped in planning, technical support, communications, intelligence sharing,'" Mr. Golez said.

By moving to Mindanao, the Abu Sayyaf guerrillas may have lost one big advantage they had on Basilan -- support of the local population. The guerrillas were forced to keep moving, and that might have tired them as well as made them careless.

On Friday, a sudden heavy downpour apparently forced the guerrillas to stop their march and put up crude shelters. That may have allowed the soldiers to catch up.

When the Philippine soldiers realized they had finally entered the enemy lair, they began crawling closer, and came within 15 yards of the camp, close enough to see the guerrillas' makeshift plastic tents, when they were spotted and the firefight ensued.

After the firing stopped and the soldiers approached the camp, they found the hostages.

"I saw Gracia on top of the body of Martin, weeping, shouting, 'Help! Help!'" Sergeant Magbanua said. Ms. Yap was 15 feet away, by the creek, "wounded and dying," he said.

When the soldiers began treating Mrs. Burnham's leg wound, she asked, "Who are you?" Cpl. Rodelio Tuazon said. They showed her their insignia, and she said: "For one year I have been with the bad guys. Now I am with the good guys. Don't leave me behind."

Using first aid methods taught to them by the American soldiers, Corporal Tuazon and Sergeant Magbanua made a stretcher from their uniforms and carried Mrs. Burnham out of the jungle to a clearing where an American helicopter picked her up.

Mrs. Burnham was being treated by American medical personnel at a hospital in Manila, and an embassy spokesman said she was in good spirits.

May 9, 2003, New York Times, Asia: Philippines: American Hostage's Book Prompts Inquiry,

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo ordered an investigation into allegations by a former American hostage that members of the military colluded with her Muslim militant captors. Gracia Burnham, left, of Rose Hill, Kan., made the claim in her recently released book, "In the Presence of My Enemies." Ms. Burnham was held for 377 days, until a raid by Philippine soldiers last June. Her husband, Martin, a missionary pilot, was killed in a gun battle in the raid. In her book, Ms. Burnham charges that the Philippine army routinely sold guns and ammunition to the Abu Sayyaf. [complete]

November 29, 2003, New York Times, Religion Journal; For Missionaries With Children, the Calling vs. the Danger, by Naomi Schaeffer,

In 1956, Jean Phillips and her husband took their 2-year-old son on a mission trip to Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). Working for the Southern Baptist International Mission Board, they stayed for 40 years, through a guerrilla war and the births of three children more.

In all that time, Mrs. Phillips, who last year published a book, "Rescue" (Hannibal Books), about her experiences, recalls only once questioning her choice. In 1976, she heard on the news that 13 local missionaries had just been massacred.

"I prayed to God, 'I can't stay here with this kind of fear,'" she said in a recent interview. "'If you want us to stay, give us peace.' Our hearts were made to be at peace, and I was not afraid after that."

But how can parents find peace leaving the security of Western countries and taking their children to unstable areas? In India, in 1999, an Australian missionary, Graham Staines, and his two sons, Philip, 10, and Timothy, 6, were burned to death by a radical Hindu group. In the Philippines, in 2001, an American missionary couple, Martin and Gracia Burnham, were kidnapped by the Islamic terrorist group Abu Sayyaf. Mrs. Burnham was eventually reunited with her children, who stayed behind in the United States, but her husband was killed in a gun battle between his captors and soldiers.

Missionaries may even be put in harm's way by their host country's government, as was the case with Veronica Bowers, an American, and her 7-month-old daughter, whose plane was shot down in 2001 by the Peruvian military on the mistaken suspicion that it was transporting drugs. And four years ago, Mrs. Phillips and her husband were kidnapped at gunpoint in Lesotho, while visiting their grown daughter's missionary family. They were soon released.

Given the dangers, not just of violence but also of life-threatening illness, why do these parents go? John Bueno, the executive director of the Assemblies of God World Missions, which sends people to 204 countries, including 39 "restricted" ones, where proselytizing is technically illegal, says, "We're very strong on calling."

Mr. Bueno, who was himself a "missionary kid" in Chile and who later served in El Salvador through 11 years of civil war there, explains that potential missionaries are questioned about their reasons for wanting to go. "Is this a romantic feeling of going overseas or is this really a call?" is a typical question, he said.

Aside from the spiritual benefits of life abroad, many parents, like Mrs. Phillips, welcome the exposure their children gain to other languages and cultures.

"Parents," said Eileen Charleton, a spokeswoman for the Catholic Maryknoll Mission Association, "like to instill in their children the adventure of this kind of life."

Mark Kelly, a spokesman for the International Mission Board, which supervises about 5,500 missionaries, tells of a couple who had been serving in Scotland and who felt called to go to Angola with their children "at just the moment when Angola had been listed by the U.N. as the worst country in the world to raise a child." The board interviewed them about their decision, but Mr. Kelly emphasizes, "It really comes down to trusting God that when he takes you to a place, he's completely aware of those challenges."

Asked about the dangers abroad, Joseph Nangle, the co-director of the Franciscan Mission Service, noted that the group took trainees to Washington, "the murder capital of the U.S."

And, of course, there are ways to mitigate the danger. All of the missionary programs require psychological testing, training and education before they send anyone into the field. (More than a year usually elapses between the time a family expresses interest and its departure.) Initial interviews are often conducted with each parent separately. School-age children are generally examined independently, to make sure, as Kathy Wright, the admissions coordinator for Maryknoll, explained, that the mission is "in the family's best interests."

Some groups have limits on the number of children a family may have to be eligible for a mission. Others, like the Assemblies of God missions, try to limit the age of the children who go.

Mr. Nangle says the training that families receive before going abroad, a three-month course for the Franciscan missionaries, helps them to understand "the theology of what it means to work in another culture."

"You are not going to convert the world," he said. "You are supposed to be of as much help as possible."

Families are also trained, he said, in "practical things like health issues and trauma."

"Missionaries will see some pretty tough situations of poverty and violence," he said.

Some groups like the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, avoid sending missionaries into the most difficult areas, including China, which, though it is relatively safe, does not allow proselytizing. Maryknoll does not send missionary families to Iraq or Afghanistan, Ms. Charleton says, at least until another group has established itself first.

But even countries where violence has not been pervasive can turn suddenly. The Mormon Church just pulled its missionaries out of Bolivia because of the recent revolutionary activity. (Only the three mission presidents, out of 600 to 900 missionaries, had children there, a church spokesman said.) The Franciscan missionaries have remained in Bolivia, but "it has become a question," Mr. Nangle said. ''We have dialogued with folks, and asked, 'Are you up for this?'" Almost all the missionary organizations say they leave the ultimate decisions up to the family.
______________________________________________________________________

July 30, 2004, The Associated Press, Kansan recounts year's captivity, by By Jim Gomez,

Wichita resident identified chains that her slain husband wore

Posted: Friday,

MANILA, Philippines -- Pointing to a rusty dog chain, a prosecutor asked American missionary Gracia Burnham if it was used to shackle her husband before he was killed in a bloody rescue attempt after a year of captivity in the jungle.

"I recognize that chain," Burnham testified softly Thursday at the trial of eight al-Qaida-linked guerrillas.

Burnham, 45, also recounted how her captors celebrated after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. "There was jubilation. They were patting each other's back," she was quoted by a prosecutor as saying.

Police barred journalists, photographers and TV cameras from the trial, at a police camp guarded by special forces. Burnham was whisked into the courtroom wearing a baseball cap and a black jacket over a bulletproof vest, her head bowed to avoid cameras.

Philippine authorities and FBI agents brought Burnham from a Manila safehouse to testify Thursday. She arrived in the country in secrecy late Monday.

Burnham, of Wichita, Kan., was invited to testify under a mutual legal assistance treaty between Washington and Manila. The trial is part of the Philippines' quest to impose justice on suspected Muslim militants from the Abu Sayyaf group accused of mass kidnappings, deadly bombings and beheadings.

During 2 1/2 hours on the stand, Burnham identified six of the handcuffed suspects, separated from her by a wooden grill, prosecutor Aristotle Reyes said.

"According to her, she cannot forget them because she ate and lived with them for almost a year," Reyes said. "So far, she is the witness who had the clearest recollection of what happened."

He said Burnham was brought to tears twice, including when she described the death of her husband, Martin, 42, during a commando rescue mission.

The Burnhams, longtime Christian missionaries for the Florida-based New Tribes Mission, were celebrating their 18th wedding anniversary when they were abducted at a resort on western Palawan island on May 27, 2001, and taken by speedboat to southern Basilan Island.

Also seized were Guillermo Sobero, of Corona, Calif., and 17 Filipino workers and tourists. Sobero was among several hostages beheaded.

Prosecutor Leo Dacera said Gracia Burnham was critical to the case because she was held the longest.

"She is important in the sense that she would have firsthand knowledge of the suspects who last held her to tie up the whole conspiracy from beginning to end," he said.

But an attorney for defendant Alhamzer Manatad Limbong said Burnham's testimony wouldn't hurt his defense.

"It's only good for drama, but for purposes of establishing guilt beyond reasonable doubt, the Burnham testimony is not enough. We have witnesses who say that he is innocent," defense attorney Oliver Lozano said.

For Burnham, the trial also could provide closure to the 377-day nightmare.

An army raid on June 7, 2002, left her with a gunshot wound to her thigh and killed her husband and Filipino nurse Ediborah Yap in a jungle ravine near the southern coastal town of Sirawai. The raid ended a hostage crisis that prompted Washington to provide counterterrorism training for Philippine forces.

Other hostages were ransomed off, freed or escaped.

In her book, "In the Presence of My Enemies," Burnham described brushes with death during several gunbattles, hunger, forced jungle marches and sleepless nights.

The book stirred controversy because of her allegations that an unidentified Filipino general tried to keep half the money raised for a possible ransom and that soldiers delivered food and sold weapons to the guerrillas.

It also linked her captors to Osama Bin Laden. Burnham said that in May 2001 -- four months before the Sept. 11 attacks -- they told Martin Burnham to say in a ransom message that he was being held by "the Osama bin Laden group."

On Thursday, Burnham testified that Abu Solaiman, an Abu Sayyaf leader who remains at large, heard "The Star-Spangled Banner" on a Voice of America broadcast and made her husband recite the line, "The land of the free and the home of the brave."

"Then, very proudly, Solaiman said, 'Let's see now how brave you Americans are,"' Reyes quoted Burnham as saying.

She also was shown a rusty dog chain attached to two padlocks and handcuffs and was asked if it was used to shackle her husband. Burnham testified that it was.

Burnham has three children Jeff, 17, Mindy, 14, and Zach, 13.

U.S.-backed offensives dislodged the guerrillas from their jungle lairs on Basilan. Philippine officials now consider the group a spent force, down from about 1,000 guerrillas four years ago to about 300, although it has been linked to several recent terror attacks.

____________________________________________________________________________

StevenWarRan

Wednesday, December 05, 2012

The Burnham's & New Tribesin Religion Today

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